Checkups Worth Thousands Are Free for Selected Pr. George's Residents

Greenbelt, MD, was selected as the host location for one of 15 mobile medical examination centers in the United States. The centers provide interviews and checkups that would normally cost thousands of dollars, but are free to selected Prince George's County residents, according Krystal Cottman, public affairs specialist with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

"It's like a very expensive checkup," Cottman said in an interview Tuesday. "They have state-of-the-art medical equipment."

Around 300 to 400 people are chosen to participate, but it varies by site, according to George Zipf, a supervisory survey statistician with NCHS. The chosen residents have been informed by mail, and NCHS follows up with subsequent notification, according to Cottman.

It's all part of the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), a survey that began in 1959, according to its website. Information on the participants is kept confidential, it also states.

Once collected, the data is processed and presented as national health data for issues like obesity, high blood pressure, oral health, diabetes and eye health, among others, Cottman said.

The examination center is located on Ivy Lane near the rear of the , where it is is scheduled to remain until the end of September.