Walmart to host free health screening event Jan. 20 across Illinois

Illinois Walmart stores will be hosting the first Walmart Wellness Day event of the year on Saturday, Jan. 20. This free health screening event provides residents an opportunity to learn valuable health information, including: blood glucose, blood pressure, body mass index, and low-cost immunizations.

And in select locations, customers can also take advantage of free vision screenings.

New this year, Walmart is introducing a virtual reality experience in select stores to assist with smoking cessation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 15.8 percent of adults in Illinois use smoke cigarettes regularly. This free resource is intended to be a step toward quitting tobacco.

Walmart Wellness Day comes on the heels of the company announcing that it will be the first national pharmacy chain to offer free opioid disposal solution at all pharmacy locations that allows patients to responsibly dispose of medications in their trash.

According to the American Physical Therapy Association, of more than 2,000 overdose deaths in Illinois in 2016, more than 80 percent were opioid-related.

Since its first Walmart Wellness Day event, the company has provided more than 1.7 million free screenings and 225,000 immunizations to people across the country, helping countless customers uncover existing health problems. For some, the screenings have been lifesaving. Hundreds of thousands of Americans turn out for each Walmart Wellness Day event, making it America's largest single day health fair event.