A simple health check can help save lives. Keeping track of your health can detect early indicators of Australia’s leading chronic diseases and reduce the risk of getting sick.

As a global Life Sciences company operating in agriculture and health, Bayer is dedicated to supporting lives and livelihoods of Australians. Bayer has teamed up with Active Farmers to offer a health check at the GRDC Research Update, at Wagga Wagga (NSW) in early February.

Bayer and Active Farmers share a commitment to supporting Australia’s agricultural community, in particular supporting access to health for those in rural and regional communities.
Bayer's Country Medical Director ANZ, Dr Eduardo Pimenta said the rates of disease and death are higher for rural and remote Australians, largely due to reduced access to medical services and the time required off the land travelling to see a GP or specialist.

“Bayer is encouraging people to take care of your own heart on Valentine’s Day.  As a leader in health and agriculture, we want to use our expertise in this area to raise awareness of the importance of heart health and encourage farmers and people who live in rural communities to go and have screenings early,” Dr Pimenta said.

“A simple health check can save lives. We’re pleased to be able to provide this opportunity to regional NSW, strengthening healthcare at the heart of our communities.
“Across the two-day event, we will be offering cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure checks – all three can have a huge impact if left unchecked and untreated.”
Active Farmers CEO Justin Sampson said proactively addressing access issues will help both physical and mental health of farming communities.

“We know that for farmers actually getting off-farm to get checked by healthcare professionals is no easy feat – many farmers are time poor due to the demands of farm life,” Mr Sampson said.
“That’s why we’ve partnered with Bayer and are excited to offer free heart health checks to the farming community in attendance at this year’s event, as we take a grass-roots approach to rural mental health and wellbeing.”

Active Farmers proactively addresses rural and remote farming community access issues through regular group fitness in a fun and interactive environment. Designed especially for small farming communities with limited access to fitness expertise and equipment, Active Farmers provides motivational, challenging and fun training sessions to help promote great physical and mental health wellbeing.