Free eye exams, car-seat safety check planned at health fair Saturday

Every other year the Jefferson County Health Center hosts a health fair for the community. It?s a where kids can learn some health and

safety tips, adults can take

advantage of free screenings and families can learn about resources available to them in Jefferson County.

I would like to highlight two valuable free screenings we will have available for children this year.

The Fairfield Lions Club will again this year be providing free eye exams for children. The Lions

mission is to provide early detection and treatment for vision impairment in children 6 months to 4 years of age through education,

testing and research. They use a special camera called a MTI Photo screener to take a photo of the eye. These

photos can help detect conditions like amblyopia (lazy eye), misaligned eyes, cataracts and other eye problems. The photos are sent to a specialist at the University Of Iowa Department Of Ophthalmology for testing. If a problem is detected the parent will be given a letter of referral for the child and a list of local optometrists in their area.

A National Child Passenger Safety Technician will be available to make sure that your infants and child car seats are properly installed. While installing and using child safety seats may appear to be easy enough, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated that close to three out of four parents do not properly use child restraints. If your child is not fitted correctly and the car seat is not installed properly, your child?s car seat may not protect them. The safety check will take place at the home adjacent to the health center at 2098 Libertyville Road, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Come and take advantage of the free screenings, sample a Laughter Yoga class at noon, tour the dialysis center, check out the flight for life helicopter and much more.

Ginny Hughes is the community relations manager at Jefferson County Health Center.