The best way to stay healthy is to have good preventative health practices. This was the message at the Genesis Convention Center on Saturday as Methodist Hospital hosted their annual health fair. This year’s health fair focused on preventative medicine and healthy eating habits.
“Every year we have two health fairs, one in the spring and one in the fall. This health fair is our way of reaching out to the community. Today we’ll be providing information and screenings for free. We want to encourage people to be healthier. We would like for everyone to know their numbers such as, blood pressure, glucose levels, cholesterol and all that,” said Evelyn Morris, manager of corporate communications and marketing at Methodist Hospital.
“We did a community assessment and one of the things that the people of this area identified was the lack of affordable fresh foods and vegetables. We have our farmer’s market here today selling fresh foods and veggies at whole sale prices. We’re showing a little of everything today, we have everything from free glucose screenings and heart attack risk assessments to massage therapists,” Morris added.
“It’s great when we do these community health fairs, we are offering all types of fresh fruits and veggies, apples, tomatoes, bananas, pears - you name it. It’s been donated to us by Piazza Produce Company out of Indianapolis, so not too far from here. We are here today making sure that people get some fresh foods as well as information on healthy eating. We will be giving people healthy recipes, showing them how to cut down on sugar, cholesterol and so forth, said Timothy Bellamy, executive chef at Methodist Hospital.
Residents of Gary and surrounding areas surveyed booths and took advantage of free screenings. Each booth offered different services, everything from juice cleanses to bone density checks. “I’m here to get my blood pressure checked and see what else is going on. Its nice to have something like this, where people can come if they have concerns or just want to be healthier,” said Gary resident Jackesha Ballard.
The Gary Methodist Hospital health fair is slated to be an annual event, with plans to keep expanding along with the farmers’ market later this spring. Surely it will be welcomed and supported by the local community.