Visitors to the seventh Havre Community Health & Safety Fair on Saturday at the Holiday Village Shopping Center will have an opportunity to use the event as a checkpoint for various aspects of their health, wellness and safety.
Kathie Newell, who organizes the event for Northern Montana Hospital, said the event's theme is “Checkpoint 2006: Winning With Good Health & Safety.”
“We're using the NASCAR racing-type theme since it's such a popular sport right now. And we're hoping people will race right on up here on Saturday to see what they can learn about improving their health,” she said.
Newell said she first became involved with the safety fair when BNSF asked the hospital to get involved. The event started at the Hill County Fairgrounds and moved to the mall.
“Having the Health Fair at this time of year kind of targets people who have made New Year's resolutions to improve their lifestyles,” she added. “Northern Montana Hospital and the other exhibitors want to do what we can to help them with their resolutions.”
The fair will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Northern Montana Hospital will offer a number of free screenings and several informative displays in the community room at the mall.
People using the free screening should expect waiting lines.
“We will have six machines going for the cholesterol and glucose screening, but this year we were only able to rent one machine that will screen bone density. So people interested in that screening will want to get to the mall early and expect long lines,” she said.
“We're also asking that those interested in the bone-density screening wear shoes and socks that can be easily and quickly removed, because the machine uses an individual's bare heel to assess bone density.”
About 20 other local and area businesses and organizations are setting up exhibits throughout the mall for the Health Fair. The mall and the hospital hope to continue offering the fair at least every other year.
“New developments in medicine, fitness and safety are being made every day,” said Newell, who is public relations manager at the hospital. “Offering our communities a regular opportunity to find out about those changes really gives people an opportunity to keep up-to-date on their own personal health and safety.”
