Monday, July 21, 2008

Fort Worth’s Hispanic Wellness Fair offers free medical services for all

By Pegasus News wire

FORT WORTH — For the tenth consecutive year the Hispanic Wellness Fair will offer thousands of participants free health screenings and health education services. This year’s event will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 2 at Will Rogers Memorial Center, 3401 W. Lancaster.

Among the services available will be vision exams, cancer screenings, HIV/AIDS tests, respiratory screenings, dental exams, mammograms, glucose tests, immunizations for children, diabetes screenings, nutrition screenings and the opportunity to donate blood.

The main goal of the fair is to provide access to health care prevention services and information to those who cannot afford it. Its primary objective is to introduce the Hispanic population to the community's health resources and break the barriers of communication by introducing health services in English and Spanish and building trust among the providers and those in need.

“We look forward to continuing to offer free health education and services to those people who otherwise cannot afford them,” said Hispanic Wellness Coalition Steering Committee Co-Chair Miriam Frias. “The annual health fair introduces the Hispanic community to local health resources and helps break communication walls.”

Since 1998, the fair has provided health services and education to more than 10,000 people every year the first Saturday in August. Although the event is targeted to Hispanics living in Tarrant County, the fair is free and open to the public.

This year, a Hispanic Wellness Coalition was formed to help continue to grow this successful event so that its benefits may be enjoyed by generations to come. Organizations represented on the Hispanic Wellness Coalition include: Albert Galvan Health Clinic, Baylor All Saints Medical Centers, City of Fort Worth Public Health Department, Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Harris Methodist Fort Worth, Hispanic Healthcare Professionals Association, JPS Health Network, Tarrant County Public Health Department, United Community Centers Inc., United Way of Tarrant County and the University of North Texas Health Science Center (School of Public Health).

This year’s wellness fair sponsors include: Gold Level - University of North Texas Health Science Center and United Health Care – United Health Group; Silver Level - Baylor All Saints Medical Centers, DFW International Airport, Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County, Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth, Spring Creek BBQ and Tarrant County Medical Society Alliance and Foundation; Bronze Level - Amerigroup Community Care, Cook Children’s Health Plan, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of North Texas, JPS Partners Together for Health, Wal-Mart Vision Center and Sam’s Optical; Friend Level – Aetna – Medicaid and CHIP Services, All Smiles Dental, Carter Blood Care, EECU, Home Town Dental, McDonald’s, Minyard Food Stores, Moncrief Cancer Resources, The T, Tarrant Area Food Bank and Wellcare of North Texas. Media sponsors include: KUVN Univision 23, Panorama de Nuevos Horizontes, Recuerdo 94.1 FM and La Voz del Pueblo 1270 AM.

For more information on this year’s event, contact the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at 817-625-5411.

Source: Fort Worth Public Health Department

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