Community Health, Wellness and Resource Fair is this Saturday at The Center

Christopher Harris, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·2 min read

Apr. 23—This weekend, you can fare well at the wellness fair.

The Pulaski County Community Health, Wellness, and Resource Fair will be held Saturday, April 23, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset.

The event is being organized by Wynona Padgett with the Kentucky Cancer Program, partnering with Elsa Brown and the Somerset Foundation.

"We've not had a community health fair for quite some time because of COVID and even before that, there hadn't been one for a little while," said Padgett. "... Somerset Foundation (is) covering the expenses for us to be able to do this. They do work so much with the Latino population, not just here but in various places around the world."

Minority health will be a particular focus for this event; Anthem Medicaid were interested in reaching the Hispanic population in this community, noted Padgett. There will be Spanish-speaking interpreters on hand so there's not a language barrier.

Padgett said they also want to focus on the African-American community, "because they, not as much here as in other areas, have many disparities too, and also have such high rates of cancer and heart disease and diabetes."

That said, the health fair is open to everyone and is free to attend. There will be fun activities for kids, including free ice cream (courtesy of A-1 Ice Cream and the City of Somerset), bounce houses from B&D Inflatables, and games.

The event will also include demonstrations, educational exhibits (including the "Incredible Colon"), and free health screenings for a variety of concerns: vision, dental, colon cancer, blood pressure, women's health, sports physicals, diabetes risk, CPR and First Aid, COVID vaccines, and more.

Participating organizations include: Air Methods, Anthem Medicaid, Bethany House Abuse Shelter, City of Somerset, 5:16 Clinic, Community Support of Kentucky, First Choice Clinic, Hospice of Lake Cumberland, Humana Healthy Horizons, Intrepid Home Health, Kentucky CancerLink, Kentucky Cancer Program, Kentucky Services, Lake Cumberland Community Action Agency A-ROC Consortium, Lake Cumberland Community Action Agency — kynect Program, Lake Cumberland Head Start — Migrant, Lake Cumberland District Health Department COVID Vaccine Clinic, Lake Cumberland District Health Department, Lake Cumberland District Health Department — Harm Reduction, Lake Cumberland Imaging Center (mammogram scheduling), Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital Schoolhouse Health Mobile Clinic (sports physicals and primary provider scheduling), Lexington VA Health Care System, PFLAG Somerset, Passport Health Plan, Pulaski County Cooperative Extension Service, Pulaski County Community Early Childhood Council, Pulaski County Migrant Education Program, Quest Counseling. Rocky Hollow Recreation Center, SKYHope Recovery Program for Women, Somerset Fire Department, Somerset Foundation, Somerset-Pulaski County EMS, UK College of Nursing, United Healthcare Community Plan of Kentucky, and Wellsprings Wellness.

For more information, call 606-383-0367 or email wynona.padgett@uky.edu.

"We are hoping to have a good turnout," said Padgett. "We think it will be a really nice event."