Hospital to host senior health fair Saturday

    The Washington County Hospital and Clinics is hosting a health fair for seniors on Saturday from 8:30-11:30 a.m. The fair is known as ?Seniorfest? and will be the first of its kind ever organized by the hospital. The event is free and open to the public. 

    Seniorfest will feature 35 booths, each one covering a different subject in health care. There will be speakers and live entertainment all morning long, not to mention free food and door prizes.

    ?We have done health fairs for kids in the summer, but this is our first fair targeted to seniors,? said WCHC Marketing Director Carrie Garman. ?We knew other health facilities had done fairs in the past. We wanted to provide seniors with a fair that would be a one-stop shop for health information.?

    Dr. Lloyd Holm, an OBGYN, will speak first at 9 a.m. about the clinical signs of cancer. Chrystal Woller from Washington County Public Health (WCPH) will deliver an update on the H1N1 flu and the availability of the vaccine at 9:30 a.m.

    Bonnie Kester, the Chief Nursing Officer at the hospital, will speak on sickness prevention at 10 a.m. Edie Nebel will provide an overview of the services offered by public health at 10:30 a.m. Hospital CEO Don Patterson will round out the speakers at 11 a.m. with a presentation on health care reform. 

    A vocal group called ?Prairie Serenade? will kick off the entertainment at 9 a.m. ?Silver Sneakers? will give an exercise demonstration at 9:30 a.m. The United Presbyterian Barbershop Choir will sing at 10 a.m., followed by Ed Raber on bagpipes at 10:30. The final entertainment set will be a memory game at 11 a.m.

    Among the myriad booths at the fair will be a public health station giving seasonal flu shots. Seniors can get the shots free of charge provided they bring their Medicare card.

For the full story, see the Oct. 14 edition of The Washington Evening Journal