Taking the time to check one’s health
Published 10:13 am Thursday, April 5, 2018
By Lorenzo Salinas
By taking a little time out of their day, residents could do something that could benefit their overall health for a much longer period of time.
The second annual 2018 Community Health Fair is coming to Port Arthur and will offer the same suite of health screenings the first one did.
“We’re coming together to host this health fair and we’ve invited several vendors and non-profits to come and attend,” Grant Coordinator Nataly Perez said.
A joint venture between the Port Arthur and Beaumont Health Department, the fair is a result of a state grant given to the two cities as part of State Partnership Initiative to Address Health Disparities.
“What we do is offer free health screenings for diabetes, blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol and weight,” Perez said. “What we do is promote healthy eating, exercise and getting annual checkups.”
Perez said that minorities like Hispanics and African Americans are more at risk for certain types of these diseases like diabetes and obesity.
“People don’t need insurance for this,” she said. “Everything is free.”
The first Community Health Fair took place at the Robert Bowers Civic Center, where it drew an estimated 50 to 60 people who all received a free health screening. This year’s event had to be relocated due to the continued closure of the civic center after Hurricane Harvey.
Perez expected a similar turnout this year.
“I think this kind of thing is important because we bring the community together and try to emphasize the importance of eating healthy, receiving regular checkups and even paying attention to your family history,” Perez said.
“If you have a family history of diabetes for example, you’re going to be more susceptible to (having) it.”
If a person decides to receive a screening for diabetes at the fair, Perez said vendors would test their blood sugar level with a blood glucose monitoring system. She said the test is best done during a fasted state, and that a person’s blood glucose level should be 120 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or less.
The 2018 Community Health Fair runs from 9 a.m. to noon April 13 at the Recreation and Senior Citizen Center on 1308 Ninth Ave. in Port Arthur.
Health vendors like Clinica San Lucas, La Costa Dental, Texas Children’s Health Plan and Christus St. Elizabeth will be on hand to administer various screenings and to hand out information.
For further info, one may call Perez or LaTasha Mayon with the Port Arthur Health Department at 409-983-8891 or 409-983-8862 respectively.
To reach the Beaumont Health Department, one may call Billy Flores at 409-654-3621 or Maria Morales at 409-654-3619.
