The Valparaiso community was treated with a health and wellness fair presented by the Porter County Health Department on Friday, June 14. Several vendors filled up Central Park Plaza to help educate everyone in attendance.
Dr. Maria Stamp, Porter County health officer, describes what the attendees were in store for at the event.
“This is our inaugural Health and Wellness Fair,” Stamp said. “We're hoping that we'll be able to carry this out every year. There are a lot of opportunities for people to stop by and see what's going on in Porter County while educating themselves on health and wellness. We want to let people know what resources are available here.”
Carrie Gschwind, administrator for the Porter County Health Department, shares how the concept of this health and wellness fair came together.
“We wanted to create a family-friendly idea to bring people together and check out resources from our community partners in the county,” Gschwind said. “The idea is to give all the things necessary to ensure everyone is healthy for the summer, especially the kids before they have to go back to school in the fall.”
On top of educating the attendees, people were offered a chance for free and low-cost health screenings. This includes preventative heart screenings, immunizations, blood pressure checks, dental screenings, vision screenings and back-to-school physicals.
“The cardiac screenings offered are in partnership with the Zac Mago Foundation,” Gschwind said. “They're donating the screenings for every year the foundation has been going on and we will be donating for the rest of those that are done today. We have sports physicals that are being graciously donated by HealthLinc and their partnership with the Northwest Health family medicine residency program.”
While the fair provided various ways for people to learn more about health and wellness, people were provided with several fun games and activities. The fair put on a food truck alley, free haircuts, face painting and many school supply giveaways.
“We have a DJ that came to play some awesome music for everyone,” Gschwind said. “We have some of our staff in costumes such as Spongebob, a virus and a vaccine following it. The splash pad is open for the kids so it’s an awesome way to celebrate for people of all ages.”
The Porter County Health Department strives to be involved with the community. Events like this are the best way for them to cross paths with so many faces that want to know more about these resources.
“Public health is a little different than what people normally think about when they think of health care,“ Gschwind said. “Our focus is on the total well-being of individuals and ensuring that basic needs are met is important to ensuring that individuals can focus on their clinical needs. That is why it’s super important for us to get out here and do this type of health promotion, building these connections within the community.”
Ultimately, this inaugural health and wellness fair couldn’t have been possible without all the vendors that came to show what they have to offer at Central Park Plaza.
“We have more than 40 community partners that joined us to make this health fair come together,” Stamp said. “There are several wonderful programs out there and great resources in Porter County. We couldn’t be more thankful for our community partners and the fantastic job that they do. We're all collectively doing our best to make sure the residents of our county can leave here with the information and resources they need.”
For more information on the Porter County Health Department, you can visit their website. If you attended the health fair, the Porter County Health Department values your feedback. Please click the following link to complete a brief survey: https://forms.gle/mDroYMxfURRHUZZk7
