As schools all across the region start, Marram Health Center hosted its annual Back to School Health Fest on the campus of Indiana University Northwest. The event featured giveaways including a raffle with bikes as the prize.
“We try to do this every year we get together with community partners from the area,” said Etha Lasenby, community outreach & insurance enrollment coordinator at Marram Health Center. “We come out to have a good time with the kids. We have resources for children and their families, and we do school supply giveaways. There is also a free lunch for them today, and we're also doing a bike raffle. It's just all the partners in the community coming together for the community.”
Marram Health and IUN partner up each year to put on this event for the community. Being right next to each, IUN allowed Marram Health their parking lot for the event. The two also partner with each over the course of the year.
“We are right across the street from them, and some of IUN’s nursing students intern with our doctors,” said Lasenby. “We are always appreciative of them donating this space to us for free. We do this every year for our back-to-school event and also our trunk or treat event in October.”
The Marram Health’s Back to School Fest helps inspire and get the kids excited for the new year.
“It is very inspiring, all of the kids get to come out and talk to other people,” said Nancy Thompson. “It is a great event to bring the community together. We are excited for the new school year and we are grateful to Marram Health.”
Several different vendors had stands set up such as Geminus and NorthShore Health Centers.
“We have a great turnout, and the kids are excited about our rulers, which is fun,” said Alexis Garcia, community relations specialist of NorthShore Health. “It's awesome and important to be out in the community right now. We want to get the kids aware of their physicals and get them ready for the school year. We want to make sure that they're healthy enough to start the school year, that their minds are right, and that their bodies are right. With us with our healthcare facility, we want you to come in and make sure that you're ready and healthy next year.”
Making sure the kids are healthy is one of the things Marram Health hopes to have. Saturday’s event is one of the ways that they show they care about the community they serve.
“We care about the community that we serve,” said Lasenby. “We're not just medical professionals, we have behavioral health as well. We try to make sure that the kids are healthy all the way around both mentally and physically. We want to make sure that they have everything they need to be better and healthy students.”
With the Medicaid wind down, Marram Health can also help with insurance questions and receive assistance.
Marram Health provides quality care at its locations in Gary, Hebron, and Portage. For more information about Marram Health, visit their website at marramhealth.org/.
For more information about IUN, visit their website at northwest.iu.edu/.
