Cerje Gets Free Heart Checkups as Nis Lab Tour Continues

Do you live in one of the villages around Nis and wonder whether you can get your blood drawn this week without a trip into town? You can, if your village is on the list. The Nis Health Center is running its lab from village to village from today through Friday, and Cerje is also getting a heart checkup today.

The Lab Goes Village to Village

The “Open Doors of the Laboratory Diagnostics Service” campaign started today in the village of Hum and runs through Friday, September 18. According to the Nis Health Center, the goal is to bring the service, meaning blood draws and basic lab tests, closer to residents who do not always have the chance to travel into the city. The team is scheduling appointments by day, so it is worth checking exactly when the campaign reaches your village.

The schedule for the rest of the week is as follows:

• today, Monday, the campaign is in Hum, no set hours have been published
• tomorrow, Tuesday, the team is in Gornja Toponica from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., then in Supovac from 10 a.m.
• on Wednesday, it is Sicevo’s turn, from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
• on Thursday, the team reaches Popovac, at the same hours
• on Friday, September 18, the campaign wraps up in Gabrovac, also from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.

Neither Telegraf nor the Nis Health Center’s website says exactly which tests are done, whether a referral is required, or whether they are free of charge. If you are planning to go, the safest move is to call ahead before you leave home.

Cerje’s Turn for a Heart Checkup Today

While the lab travels through the villages, Cerje is getting something different today. Starting at 10 a.m., at the local Cooperative Hall (Zadruzni dom), residents can get a free preventive cardiology checkup. The visit includes an EKG, blood pressure measurement, a heart ultrasound and a blood sugar test, all in one stop.

The checkups are run by doctors from the University Clinical Center Nis (UKC Nis) and the Niska Banja Institute, with help from young doctors and medical students. If a checkup shows that a patient needs further diagnostics or treatment, that person is referred on for follow up at the appropriate institution.

This is not a one off effort. Teams from UKC Nis and the Niska Banja Institute say they plan to keep visiting villages across the Nis area, with the goal of eventually reaching every village nearby. A similar checkup was held earlier this month, when residents of Gornji Matejevac received free heart screenings.

Is This the First Time the Lab Has Come to the Villages?

No. The same round of open lab days already ran once from August 31 to September 4, and before that during August, through August 21. The Nis Health Center is not doing this as a one time push, then, but in repeating rounds, week after week, until it covers as many villages as possible.

The announcement on the institution’s website states that this is exactly the goal, to bring the laboratory service closer to village residents instead of making them travel into the city for every test result. The exact date that announcement was published on the Nis Health Center’s website is not given in the material we reviewed, so we are not citing it here as a confirmed fact.

How to Get in Touch or Check a Schedule

For any questions, whether about the lab tour of the villages or the checkups in Cerje, the Nis Health Center has two numbers. The switchboard is 018/503666, and there is also a call center at 0700-303-503. If you are not sure whether your village is on this week’s list, the fastest way to find out is to call and ask, rather than guess based on the schedule above.

For Cerje residents, the message is simple: no appointment is needed, just show up at the Cooperative Hall after 10 a.m. today. For the other villages, following the day by day schedule remains the only way to catch the team on time, since exact appointment windows for some villages, as is the case with Hum today, are not always published in advance.