Could a Health Assessment Save Your Life? It Might Have for These Duke Employees

High blood pressure, diabetes and other risks can go unnoticed. Get checked at a mobile campus clinic and take charge of your health

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Years ago, Gregory Phillips stopped by a health fair hosted by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, just because it happened to be set up near his office in the Fuqua School of Business.

Phillips, now Executive Director for Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs, got a flu shot, snagged a chair massage and sat down to have both his blood sugar and blood pressure measured during that health assessment in 2018.

When the nurse took his blood pressure, she looked concerned. She called someone else over to take the reading again and double-check her results.

Now, both were worried.

Phillips’ blood pressure was 185/129 – dangerously from the normal range of 120/80. He was 44 at the time, had recently lost 20 pounds and felt fine. He also hadn’t been to the doctor in several years because he felt so healthy.

“It’s known as the ‘silent killer,’” Phillips said. “I had no symptoms whatsoever. I felt normal.”

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Immediately, the nurses told Phillips he should go to the doctor. By the time he got to urgent care, his blood pressure was even higher – likely from worrying about it. Doctors put him on medication and several doctor appointments and tests later, he learned he had , high blood pressure that doesn’t have an identifiable cause.

For Phillips, it’s likely genetic; both his parents suffered from hypertension and began taking medication for it in their mid-40s, he said. Phillips has been on medication, himself, since that health assessment and has had normal blood pressure ever since.

“If I hadn't gone to that health fair it is not an exaggeration to say that I might have ended up having a stroke and who knows, maybe I would have died or my health would have been severely affected,” Phillips said. “There's just no way of knowing.”

A portrait of Gregory Phillips — Gregory Phillips says he didn't know his blood pressure was dangerously high until he attended a LIVE FOR LIFE health assessment. Photo by Travis Stanley

Health Assessments Save Lives

Last year, at least four Duke employees who attended a LIVE FOR LIFE health assessment were referred to immediate medical care for dangerously high blood sugar or blood pressure measurements, LIVE FOR LIFE Nurse Manager Jessica Bailey said.

Mobile are set up throughout university and health system locations each month to provide basic health screenings at no charge to Duke staff and faculty. An assessment, which typically takes 20 minutes, includes total cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, BMI and waist circumference measurements.

Nurses can refer participants to dieticians, fitness specialists and resources to help them make lifestyle changes if any measurements are concerning.

“It can be hard for employees to find the time to take away from work to actually come to us in the clinic or to go to their own personal primary care physician and it’s important to make sure we reach everyone,” Bailey said. “Preventative care is always better than dealing with something once it happens, and we can prevent employees from getting to a place where they’re missing a lot of days from work, using PTO or even not being paid. We want to make sure we keep our employees healthy and make sure that we promote health.”

a portrait of Sheba Hall — Sheba Hall learned her dizzy spells weren't because of poor sleep but because of high blood pressure. Photo by Travis Stanley

Fast Food Trips Curbed

Sheba Hall was on her way to get lunch last July when she walked past a mobile health assessment and decided to stop.

She doesn’t remember precisely how high the numbers were, but she knows when the nurse took her blood pressure, it was in the red “” zone.

The nurse asked if she had been having dizzy spells. She had – often throughout her day as an Administrative Coordinator for the School of Medicine’s Office of Student Affairs and sometimes when she was driving home. Occasionally, she’d get so dizzy while driving that she wondered if she might pass out.

“I thought it was just me being tired and not sleeping well,” Hall said. “That’s when it clicked that it was due to me having high blood pressure and not eating correctly, not doing the right things.”

The LIVE FOR LIFE nurse helped Hall walk through habits that might be causing increased blood pressure, and she quickly landed on a culprit: Fast food.

Nearly every day, Hall stopped at a fast-food restaurant for dinner on the way home. The Dog House, with its selection of hot dogs, and Wendy’s were among her favorites. She rarely ate fresh fruit and vegetables.

Now, Hall said, she has focused on adding fruits and vegetables to her diet – and goes to the grocery store instead of fast-food restaurants.

“I feel a whole lot better,” Hall said. “More energy and not as agitated.”

A portrait of Felicia Wade — Felicia Wade says she realized she needed to focus more on her health after learning her blood pressure and blood glucose were high last year. Photo by Travis Stanley

Renewed Focus on Health

Felicia Wade has battled a variety of ailments over her 51 years of life. When she was 27, she learned she’s diabetic, starting a lifelong battle to rein in her blood sugar levels. In 2020, she experienced a – a life-threatening condition involving a blood clot that can obstruct blood flow to both lungs.

The doctor who treated her embolism had some foreboding advice: “Your life will forever be changed.”

At the time, Wade was pushing 350 pounds. She also had been working as a Certified Nursing Assistant and often worked 12-plus hours per day. After the health emergency, she transitioned to a position as a Health Unit Coordinator in the Pediatric Department and lost more than 50 pounds.

At a LIVE FOR LIFE health assessment, shown here in 2018, attendees have basic measurements recorded, along with cholesterol and blood glucose readings from a finger prick. Working��ţӰ�� File Photo

Still, by August 2024, she wasn’t taking care of herself, and she knew it. She was feeling run down.

“I was battling with taking my medicine on time, making sure I'm taking care of myself,” Wade said. “After you've been diagnosed and you've been on medication for a while, it burns you out. You get to a point where you're like, ‘What is this helping? Why do I have to take this medicine every day?’”

When she stopped by a LIVE FOR LIFE health assessment near her office Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Care, the nurses who measured her blood pressure and blood sugar levels were concerned about both.

Wade’s blood pressure was about 160/70 and her blood glucose level was in the high 300s – well above the with a ceiling of 180. They told her she needed to see a doctor immediately.

She worked with her doctor to tweak both her diet and her medications and has stayed focused on both ever since, she said.

“I realized I’ve got to take care of me,” Wade said. “Nobody's going to take care of me. The health assessment helped me realize that you’ve got to take care of you.

“I try not to let anybody, or anything get in the way of my physical or mental capacity. I'm on the right track. Life is good.”

for your health assessment or schedule an appointment in the Employee Health and Wellness office at Duke Clinic in the sub-basement, Orange Zone (Room 00320).

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