HOLA Community Center to host Health and Wellness Fair
Sep. 5—Medical providers will be coming together to offer free checkups, screenings, vaccines and more during HOLA Ohio's Sept. 7 Health and Wellness Fair.
The fair will run from 4 to 8 p.m. at the HOLA Community Center, 265 N. State St. in Painesville. Services listed on the flyer include general checkups, diabetes screenings, blood pressure tests, spirometry breathing tests, vaccines, hepatitis C and HIV tests, vision screenings, cholesterol checks and Narcan consultations.
According to HOLA Executive Director Veronica Dahlberg, providers set to appear at the fair include the Cleveland Clinic Respiratory Institute, Lake County Free Clinic, Lake County General Health District, Signature Health, Walmart and the Red Cross.
She said that additional support will come from Anthem and AstraZeneca, while the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging is set to provide information for seniors.
The first 35 families will receive digital thermometers, Dahlberg said, while there will also be bags with dental supplies and other items.
"People can come, they can eat, and then they can go inside and get whatever services they would like," she added.
Dahlberg said that this year will mark HOLA's first health fair in the area since "probably the '90s," though it has helped offer fairs for farmworkers in Northwest Ohio since then. Providers also attended the organization's Cinco de Mayo event in Painesville this year.
"Our mission is to improve outcomes and health education and financial stability for the community," she said.
Dahlberg also mentioned that HOLA's "four priority areas" include improving health care, education and financial stability, as well as "highlighting and celebrating Hispanic culture and contributions."
"We're really doing this health fair to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month, to just underscore the importance of good health as the foundation for optimal living," she said.
National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. Dahlberg said that HOLA also plans to mark the month and Mexican independence with a Sept.16 Community Day, which will include mariachis and food.
She said that the community has responded "very well" since HOLA opened the center in 2022.
"We have had very good participation in all of our programs, and every day we have individuals coming in with a variety of needs, and we have a wonderful staff that is very dedicated and able to help them," Dahlberg said.
"This health fair kind of arose out of the cases of people we had coming in seeking assistance," she added. "We knew that we needed to do something."
Dahlberg said that barriers for HOLA's clients include a "language barrier, transportation, lack of insurance or high worries about the high cost of medical care."
"We would see the consequences of that here," she added. "People with untreated diabetes that were having strokes, even not surviving strokes. People with amputations. So many different things, all because these chronic medical conditions went untreated."
She said that the fair would focus on connecting people with available resources rather than just offering one-time test results.
Dahlberg also said that "20 percent of Hispanic Ohioans are uninsured," citing U.S. Census data.
"We also have a high prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure," she said, while adding that "Hispanics are also the group least likely to see a doctor."
Dahlberg said that the fair "is open to anybody."
"It's geared to the Spanish-speaking population, which is the group that has the language barrier, so we want to remove those barriers by providing the services in Spanish," she added. "But, it's for anybody."
People can call 440-210-4222 to learn more.
