There is a big blue bus traveling the country with the National Urban League’s name written across it, its destination, a healthy community.

Kacey Thompson and Nic Tat, co-managers of the Walgreen’s store on Mack Road, welcomed locals to the Wellness Tour when it stopped at their location.

The bus is touring the United States as part of the year-long Walgreens Wellness Tour and Sacramento was one of its 75 city stops.

Tour organizers are touting the importance of early detection and being proactive rather than reactive, as many African Americans are in terms of health.

“Health screenings can detect disease before any symptoms are noticed, which is why awareness is the key to living a long and healthy life,” said Mark Wagner, executive vice president of store operations for Walgreens Co. “We’re thrilled to partner with the National Urban League to provide resources which will empower Americans in urban communities to live healthier lives.”

The Walgreens Wellness Tour encourages consumers to act as their own health advocates by taking charge and visiting the wellness vehicle as it stops in their cities to offer educational information and free health screenings.

The goal, national organizers say, is to provide $1,000,000 worth of health care services per month. The screenings are valued at more than $100.

In Sacramento, the tour parked itself at several locations including the Oak Park Community Center, the Walgreens store on Mack Road, the Y-ME Breast Cancer Walk at Crocker Park and the Greater Sacramento Urban League.

“Our main reason for having this here is to just bring about awareness,” said Taurus Jackson, the Greater Sacramento Urban League’s Vice President of Programs and Technology. “Especially among the area’s low-income residents who can’t pay for testing, at least they can get the initial screening done and then follow up if they need to.”

The tour provides a variety of free services and screenings for folks 18 and over. The five screenings given are the Total Cholesterol, Glucose, Blood Pressure, Bone Density Screening and Body Mass Index.

At the Greater Sacramento Urban League, the traveling tour was incorporated into a larger health fair. In the end, 320 people were screened, Jackson said. The local Urban League also hosted a “Remarkable Woman Workshop” that focused on diabetes and encouraged Black women to take control of their own health outcomes.

An extended “Remarkable Woman Workshop” was held May 19. Workshops on diabetes, diet, exercise, obesity and mental health were organized for the day-long event.

Jackson said the “Remarkable Woman” sessions will continued on a monthly basis, each open to 50 women.

“In September we’re going to have a post testing to see if what was taught to them showed a result in their health,” she continued.

The National Urban League faction of the tour, new for 2007, began in San Diego on April 21 and continues on to June 4. After leaving Sacramento, the tour headed to St. Louis, Missouri and on to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.