Expo Center sought for Community Health Fair

James Beaty, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·3 min read

Aug. 16—Location. Location. Location.

The McAlester Regional Health Center Foundation is preparing to hold its annual Community Heath Fair in October, an event which offers medical screenings for a variety of conditions to the public.

The main question at this point is where it will be held.

MRHC Foundation Executive Director Chris Plunkett met Monday with Pittsburg County commissioners and asked to hold the health fair at the Southeast Expo Center.

Plunkett also asked the county commissioners to waive the fee to use the Expo Center for the Community Health Fair.

He said the wrong date for the Community Health Fair had inadvertently been listed on the commissioners' meeting agenda, with the correct date being Oct. 26.

Pittsburg County Commissioners Kevin Smith and Charlie Rogers told Plunkett they will have to check on the availability of the Expo Center for that date.

"I want to make sure we have it available on that day," said Smith, the District 2 commissioner. "We will look at it and get back to you."

Commissioners also told Plunkett they will have to get back with him on his request for them to waive the fee to use the Expo Center..

Plunkett asked how he will be notified.

"We'll send out a letter out and we will put it back on this agenda," Smith said, referring to the commissioners' weekly meeting agenda.

Following the meeting, the News-Capital asked Plunkett about this year's Community Health Fair, which was held at the Expo Center in 2022.

"We had it out there last year," Plunkett said. "They were generous enough to let us have it at no cost."

While an exact location has not yet been nailed down for this year's event, the times are set.

"It will start at 4 p.m. and run until 8 p.m. that night," said Plunkett.

He considers it a significant event regarding the health of Pittsburg County residents.

He said if the Pittsburg County commissioners don't approve the Expo Center as the location for the health fair, another location will have to be found.

Plunkett said the Community Health Fair has been a life-saving event in the past.

"Every year we literally find somebody that has a potential life-threatening condition," said Plunkett.

Through the Community Health Fair, those conditions have been identified and successfully treated, he said.

Plunkett said the McAlester Regional Health Center Foundation Community Health Fair is different than events offered by other nonprofit organizations, which leads him to hope the usage fee will be waived if this year's event is held at the Expo Center.

He said it's different because it's geared toward the health care of all Pittsburg County residents. It's even been utilized by some who live outside the county, Plunkett said.

"We've had people come from as far away as Pittsburg and Kiowa, he said, as well as residents from cities outside Pittsburg County, such as Eufaula and Stigler.