Health fair promotes prevention
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PABLO — Health, prevention and free goodies were all the rage at this year’s Women For Wellness Health Fair.
For the second year in a row Salish Kootenai College Prevention Task Force hosted the educational event that was designed to provide information, free screenings and a little bit of fun for women of all ages.
Besides the free testing and screenings for a range of diseases and infections, the health fair offered free five-minute massages from local masseuses and quick alignments with some of the valley’s finest chiropractors. Cosmetic lines such as Clinique and Mary Kay offered free giveaway drawings as well, while Pampered Chef showed off their fancy wares.
St. Joseph Medical Center, St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center and St. Luke Community Healthcare collaborated to provide tests for diseases ranging from heart disease to HIV.
“I am thrilled that all the major hospitals worked together to provide free screenings,” Women For Wellness Co-organizer Eleanor Vizcarra said.
One screening that was particularly successful was the St. Luke’s Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography screen. The CTA is a test that screens for signs of strokes.
St. Luke’s offered information on proper nutrition and sleep disorders, and the fair also served as an opportunity to introduce a new physical therapy program designed specifically for women.
Other services that were available included HIV testing and counseling, glucose testing, cholesterol testing, Chlamydia testing, hepatitis C testing, blood pressure checks, bone density scans and breast examinations.
The screens, tests and the medical specialists, giving free medical advice sent a crystal clear message — prevention and early detection are key in maintaining health.
“With the changes (to health care) that are coming down the pipes,” St. Luke Healthcare Community Relations Director Wayne Fuchs explained, “Prevention is becoming more and more important.”
“Each of us need to take more responsibility for our own health,” he added.
Health prevention and personal responsibility is a sentiment that Vizcarra saw more prevalently in the younger generation.
Last year she was pleasantly surprised to see a higher representation of women in the 20-30 year-old demographic attend the health fair.
“That tells me that they are thinking different than their mothers were,” Vizcarra said.
Despite their enthusiasm about attracting the younger generations, SKC Prevention Program Director Niki Graham hopes that the event attracts more of the older generations as well next year.
“We want to reach the needs of elders,” Graham explained, emphasizing how important this information would be to entire families, especially those where the grandparents acted as the primary caregivers.
Women were also encouraged to attend one of the 13 presentations on health topics ranging from breast cancer to self defense.
One presentation given by Dr. Kelly Bagnell, a gynecologist at St. Joseph’s, advised young women on healthy pregnancies. The doctor went through an in-depth summary of healthy and unhealthy behaviors and nutrition during and before pregnancy.
Perhaps the most shocking presentation was the self-defense seminar, which trickled down into the main gymnasium of the SKC Joe McDonald Health And Fitness Center. Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Levi Read, posing as a stalker used the gymnasium’s sound system to “threaten” a “victim.”
The creepy message sent chills down the spines of women and men in attendance alike, but Read had a point to prove.
“Really when we talk about safety, the overall mindset should be about identifying the threat,” Read said, following his presentation.
He went on to explain that even though it’s entertaining to demonstrate methods of self-defense, it should really be used as a last resort.
The important thing to understand are the stages that lead up to a violent crime of passion and report those incidents fully to law enforcement, he explained.
This year the event was funded by corporate sponsors and two grants — HIV Prevention and In Community Spirit through SKC. And with such a successful turnout this year, the prevention task force has every intention of orchestrating a bigger and better Women For Wellness next year.
The prevention task force would like to hear your opinions and success stories about the event.
If you have a story to tell, please send an e-mail to niki_graham@skc.edu.
