Te Awamutu Courier

Fieldays Health and Wellbeing Hub triples in size

The Hauora Taiwhenua facility is building strongly on its five-year presence

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Due to massive demand, the Fieldays Hauora Taiwhenua Health and Wellbeing Hub has tripled in size for this year’s event. The health and wellbeing initiative has been a staple in the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultur­al event for going on five years now, and it is an important pit stop for visitors every year.

Fieldays works with Mobile Health to bring together a range of health experts and organisati­ons in one area. Visitors can receive health advice and a range of check-ups, including blood pressure checks, blood sugar level testing, hepatitis C testing, and skin cancer spot checks, among others.

In 2021, participan­ts in the hub gave over 722 free blood pressure checks, 334 kidney health checks and 673 skin spot checks, of which 54 were found to be suspicious and needed further testing. Participan­ts in the hub can also connect visitors with support networks across the country for various health conditions.

Ensuring that rural communitie­s have the same health and wellbeing opportunit­ies as those that live in urban areas has always been a cornerston­e for the NZ National Fieldays Society and its CEO, Peter Nation.

‘It can be difficult to get people from our farming and rural communitie­s in to see medical profession­als, and that’s an issue that we really focus on when building this hub each year,” he said.

‘We’ve increased its size this year because there is so much interest in the informatio­n and check-ups you can get. We’re so pleased to see such a huge amount of interest from our visitors, and we’re thrilled that the Hub has such a large footprint. Part of the growth is due to an increase in the neurologic­al section of the Hub, which sees several organisati­ons situated together to focus on this key health issue.

“Too often, we hear these stories of people in our rural communitie­s not taking the time to see a doctor or health profession­al because they live so remotely or are too busy on the farm to take time out to get medical advice.

“We believe that the most important assets on any farm are the people that work on it. So, don’t miss this opportunit­y this year. Make sure you’re farm-fit and get a check-up at Fieldays.

“We suspect you will always make time for a WOF or service for your vehicles — now, this is your turn for aWOF. We suspect quite a few of our valued exhibitors may also take this opportunit­y to have a quick checkup.”

The Fieldays Hauora Taiwhenua Health and Wellbeing Hub is a onestop shop for everything related to physical and mental health and wellbeing. Visitors can expect to receive education about their health and wellbeing in a non-threatenin­g and interactiv­e way.

The Hub is located near the intersecti­on of E Street and N Road at the event.

■ Tickets are available at tickets.fieldays.co.nz/tickets

 ?? ?? The Fieldays Hauora Taiwhenua Health and Wellbeing Hub.
The Fieldays Hauora Taiwhenua Health and Wellbeing Hub.
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