Senior health fair revived
CALEXICO — After about a five-year hiatus, the annual senior citizens health fair returned Tuesday afternoon to the Villa De Las Flores apartment complex on Meadows Drive.
While the health fair was held within the complex, it was open to all senior citizens of the Valley. Organizers even took time to invite seniors living in an apartment complex across the street.
Organized by Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District and Angels on Earth Home Health, the fair consisted of about 10 information booths, which provided information on services available to Valley seniors.
Local doctors and other health care professionals were on hand to provide guests with information.
Booths such as California Phones, which helped guests get free specialized phones and services through a state program, and Imperial County Social Services Adult Protective Services were also on hand.
The Alzheimer’s Association, Hospice of Imperial Valley and Ventanilla De Salud also set up booths.
At the Ventanilla booth, Adriana Buelna, program coordinator, provided free eye exams and reading glasses to guests.
“Many don’t have transportation to go to the parks and other places, so we bring the resources where they live, so it’s an easy access for them,” Buelna said.
It was Angels on Earth who initiated the effort to team up with PMHD to bring the health fair back.
A home health care service based in Los Angeles, Angels on Earth has been working in the Valley for the past eight years with seniors on Medicare or those who have physical problems.
Angels on Earth decided that participating in the fair would give the local senior population a chance to learn of the services it offers, as well as unite other local agencies it has worked with over the years.
“We work with other companies, and sometimes they do events and they invite us, so we did the same thing,” Luis
Pantoja, Angels on Earth liaison officer, said.
A taco cart and entertainer Maribel Puentes added a festive air to the event, as Puentes had at least six seniors dancing to music on the apartment complex’s patio throughout the event.
In all, organizers wanted the health fair to be more of a social, day-out event, which is much needed at the Villa De Les Flores complex, Pantoja explained.
“We wanted to do something different,” he said. “We provided entertainment; we provided little raffles — something different. We provided something to eat, and also information. Not only the information, but also something that they can enjoy.”
Flores estimated about 60 seniors attended Tuesday’s fair.
“These people, they live here, but sometimes they don’t go anywhere unless their kids come and take them somewhere,” he said. “That is one of the reasons that we always try to provide a little something different for them.”
Rosa Torres, community event manager for the Villa apartment complex, liked that the tenants did not have to travel far for health information.
“They get the opportunity to attend this health fair because a lot of seniors don’t have the source of a car or transportation, or they are ill and they can’t go out,” Torres said. “And the seniors appreciate that.”