The 7th annual Seniors Summer Health and Information Faire will be providing the community with health and age related information and services this Monday, Sept. 18, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the Lake Isabella Senior Center.
The event, sponsored by the Kern Valley Hospital Foundation partnering with the Kern Valley Healthcare District and the Kernville Union School District Family Resource Center, will include more than 45 different participants sharing information about a wide range of topics.
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“I believe the value of the health fair is that many people who need many of these services have no knowledge they even exist,” Rogers said. “And many of these services are free of charge.”
Those interested in weight loss issues and healthy eating will find many groups providing, recipes, information, and samples of healthy foods.
Dietician Victoria Alwin will be on hand to answer questions about nutrition and weight management. Representatives from TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) will have information about its weight loss support group. GemCare will also be offering a weight management presentation.
The Family Resource Center will be whipping up some nutritious shakes along with handing out samples of healthy food wraps for visitors at the fair.
Mary David, Director of the Youth 2000, a teen pregnancy prevention program, will have a community awareness booth where she will have some startling information for seniors. “The fastest growing AIDS demographic in the nation are heterosexuals 50 years and older.”
David said that a lot of times seniors don't discuss their sexual activity with their physicians and symptoms of AIDS can often be overlooked. “So, they're not getting tested.”
There will also be information on teen pregnancy, which David said, costs the state of California $3.4 billion a year. She said there is currently a great need for volunteer mentors to work with teens in the Youth 2000 program and interested parties can call 379-4303.
With health insurance a little more complicated these days, seniors will be able to speak with health insurance expert and certified senior advisor Harry Thal, who will be answering questions as well as previewing some of the Medicare plans expected to be available this fall.
“There are brand new types of Medicare plans available for 2007 which is going to give people great freedom of choice in picking their doctors. It's going to reduce their costs, for most people with supplements, they're going to save better then $100 a month,” Thal said.
Another important issue to seniors is long term care. Sherod Waite, a consultant with W.A. Consulting, a financial consulting firm that specializes in post retirement planning as well as Medi-Cal long term care planning, said seniors who don't have LTC insurance often don't realize that Medi-Cal is not just welfare, but they have a LTC program.
“Often seniors will sell their home, or spend down their life savings until they don't have anything; then they apply for welfare. But the Medi-Cal LTC program helps people hang on to their assets, so they don't become impoverished. It's really an anti-poverty program,” Waite explained.
Also providing information will be Onelegacy, a federally-funded organ procurement organization that will attempt to give the facts and dispel some of the misconceptions about organ and tissue transplantation.
Stephanie Schmitz, volunteer community events coordinator with the group, said there are currently 92,000 people waiting for transplants. She said many people would like to donate their organs but are plagued with misinformation.
“One of the most common misconceptions is if I have a pink dot on my driver's license then they won't try as hard to save me. In fact, to be an eligible donor you have to have all life-saving measures taken, including putting you on a ventilator.”
Along with all the educational opportunities the fair provides, there will be health services available as well.
For those who may have problems with their feet or diabetics in need of a foot check, a podiatrist, Dr. Holly Spohn-Gross, will be available from 10 to 11 a.m. offering free exams.
Lipid panel blood tests will also be available for a modest cost of $10. A 12-hour fast is required for the test.
Among the many participants at the fair will be: California Beef Ambassador Amanda Rankin of Walker Basin, Step and Shape, Optimal Hospice, AltaOne Credit Union, LifeLine, Link to Life, Lake Isabella Adult Day Services, Adult Resource Center, Goodwill Industries, Homeinstead Senior Care, Kern Valley Youth Center, Rotary Club, College Community Services, Senior Community Service Employment Program, Sierra Mortuary and Funeral Home, as well as many other providers.
For more information call Jeanette Rogers at 376-4419.
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