Kids & Family
Health Fair Aims to Serve the Community
The upcoming event at Burton W. Chace Park is designed to benefit all members of the family.
A free “Family and Community Health Fair” is headed to Marina del Rey this month, and organizers hope to make it an annual event.
The fair is being sponsored by the Inglewood Pacific Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, a local affiliate of a national, service organization.
“We want to offer this service to those who do not have health care,” said Pamela Elkins, who chairs the event's organizing committee. “Men, women and children can come and get some testing.”
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There will be plenty to choose from, including blood pressure and diabetes screenings and HIV testing. Among the other offerings will be CPR training, and fitness trainers who will be on hand to offer exercise tips, Elkins said. In addition, dental screenings and referrals for dental care will be available, thanks to the Angel City Dental Society.
“The Angel City Dental Society typically reaches out to the community to provide health care education,” said, Dr. Katrina Eagilen, the society’s executive director.
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The group will also dole out free toothbrushes as well as give instructions on dental hygiene and home oral care. The Ostrow School of Dentistry at USC is also expected to take part in the event.
Elkins hopes people in neighboring areas, including Venice, Culver City, and Inglewood will also attend, as does Dr. Anitha Mitchell, an internist. Dr. Mitchell is part of the Association of Black Women Physicians which plans to offer the health screenings, including testing for BMI or Body Mass Index. She said this type of health fair is badly needed.
“There are a lot of people who are too poor to have health insurance and not poor enough to have Medi-Cal and need some of the health screenings,” she said. “We need to raise health awareness in the community.”
The goal should be preventing diseases before they start, she said.
The free "Family and Community Health Fair" is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, at . For more details, contact welkins461@sbcglobal.net.
