THE Men’s Health Education Rural Van will continue providing free health checks to men living in rural and regional areas, thanks to a $50,000 funding boost.
MHERV is a mobile home-style vehicle which travels throughout rural and regional New South Wales, providing free health checks for men for issues that are often ignored or overlooked, like high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol.
Health checks take about six minutes, and the team estimates the lives of about 500 men have been saved.
Since it was established by the Rotary Club of Warners Bay in 2017, the MHERV has tested more than 20,000 men, with more than 8000 found to need treatment and more than 600 in immediate danger of a stroke or heart attack.
The $50,000 in funding supports operational costs for the van and nursing services for the first regional tour this year, from early-February to mid-June 2025.
MHERV runs tours each year, providing healthcare checks for rural and regional men close to home.
MHERV project clinical adviser Toni Gemmell said the focus of the MHERV project is to screen for high blood pressure and high blood sugar.
“High level readings can lead to catastrophic events like stroke or heart attack,” Ms Gemmell said.
“These diseases often have no symptoms so it’s important to have the tests that MHERV or any Doctor would do, on a regular basis. Otherwise nobody sees it coming.”
Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park said the funding will help the Rotary Club of Warners Bay to continue the vital work.
“We men often don’t get our health checked out as often as we should. MHERV is a fantastic initiative, providing free health checks in around 5 minutes and it comes to you, so there’s really no excuse to not get checked out,” Mr Park said.
Member for Lake Macquarie, Greg Piper, said MHERV is made possible by fundraising, extremely generous sponsorship and volunteers from Rotary who give their time freely to keep this initiative a success.
“It’s a vital service which ensures that rural and regional men, who are absolutely notorious for not looking after themselves, can get a quick, free and entirely confidential check-up, right on their doorstep,” Mr Piper said.
“As a long-time supporter, I’m thrilled to see the positive impact the program has made.”
For more details on the schedule for 2025, go to Men’s Health Education Rural Van
