Methodist Community Health Clinic and the Kountze Memorial Food Pantry hosted their annual free Health Fair on September 16 at Kountze Commons Community Outreach Center. The morning was a successful and collaborative effort by the KCCOC partners to promote community health and well-being. The Health Fair and Pantry drew many guests and volunteers. There were over 400 households represented and 31 new guests with access to the Pantry and Health Fair.
Pantry and community guests had access to flu vaccines, head and neck cancer screenings, skin cancer screenings, vital signs and glucose checks, healthy eating tips with yummy humus samples from registered dieticians, tips on quitting smoking, CPR education, tips on spotting the signs of a stroke or heart attack, and education on fall prevention and exercise.
KETV Newswatch 7 featured the Health Fair in their morning news in an interview with Alicia Whitehill RN with Nebraska Methodist College. Whitehill is a community clinical coordinator for the school. "[The Health Fair is so important in] trying to meet people where they are. Right now individuals are facing food insecurity and housing insecurity more than ever. So it is really important as healthcare providers that we go out into the community and offer our services," Whitehill said during the interview. "The more we learn about social determinants of health the more we recognize that our health is impacted far more outside the walls of a clinic or a hospital."
Overall, the Health Fair offered numerous benefits to both individuals and the community as a whole, including increased access to healthcare, a head start on preventive care, health education, and community building in an effort to reduce health disparities in society. It was truly a day to Feed the Hungry, Heal the Sick, and Tend the Soul.