Health center to offer fair for families
Sunset Community Health Center (SCHC) will be holding their first Family Resource Health Fair of 2017 at a local junior high school located in an area with a large need for services, an official with the organization said.
The event is to take place on Saturday, March 11 at 4th Avenue Junior High School, located at 450 S. 4th Avenue, and will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
SCHC’s fair is free and open to the public. During the event, school-aged children and their parents will receive free age-appropriate preventative health and nutrition information, according to the SCHC news release.
Games, prizes, live music, face painting and opportunities for attendees to win a grand prize will be offered at the fair. One of the grand prizes includes a new bike and sports equipment as an effort to promote physical activity among kids and adults, the release shows.
Additionally, the event will include referral information and booths where organizations will offer their services to community members who may not know these services exist, said Lucy Murrieta, community relations outreach and eligibility director at SCHC.
Approximately 40 social services agencies have made commitments to participate during this event, she adds. Most of the services will also be represented at various booths with staff members hosting games, giving away prizes and offering health-related information.
Murrieta said that some of the information includes access to primary and preventative medical care services, women’s health, behavioral health, supplemental nutrition assistance program, and housing services.
Certified application counselors and navigators will be available to answer Kids care, AHCCS, medical discount program and Marketplace special enrollment questions.
Health screenings that are to be offered include cholesterol, dental varnish and fluoride applications, eye exams, HIV, glucose, body mass index, blood pressure, height and weight and more.
“This is the first time we are having this event at the north end of Yuma in that particular area,” Murrieta said. “We’ve had health fairs throughout Yuma County, but we are trying to bring together different resources that can help families stay healthy throughout the different parts of the community.”
Murrieta noted that the north end of Yuma is one of the areas found to have significant need of services.
“Sometimes it’s hard to find professionals in a particular area,” Murrieta said. “You are going to have all these people there that day to answer any questions.”
“Hopefully we can get that exposure out there,” Murrieta added. “Even though Yuma is not considered to be a huge city, we find a lot of families don’t know that certain services exist. That is really one of the reasons that we try to put on this kind of event — for awareness. We want to help families stay healthy.”