St. Elizabeth Health Dept. Stages Fair

In its drive to promote good health, the St. Elizabeth Health Department staged a health fair and walk in the communities of Maggotty and Balaclava, in Northern St. Elizabeth, on April 30.
The walk began in Maggoty and Balaclava, and ended with participants converging on the grounds of the Appleton Sports Complex, where the health fair was staged under the theme: ‘Health is Mine in 2009’.
More than 300 persons from Balaclava, Maggotty, Siloah, Thorton, Aberdeen and Quickstep took part in the walk and fair.
Peace Corps Volunteer and one of the organisers of the health fair, Ryan Johnson, told JIS News that the event was staged to educate persons about healthy lifestyles and to conduct various tests.
Meanwhile, Assistant Health Educator for St. Elizabeth Oddeth Brown-Reid, noted that a health walk was staged in the North St. Elizabeth districts of Balaclava and Maggotty last year, and that this year “we decided to add the health fair aspect to it, where we decided to expose people to the different agencies where they could get services that would help them in their everyday lives, and also to highlight the healthy practices that we are promoting.”
Agencies such as the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), Child Development Agency (CDA), Women’s Centre, Jamaica Cancer Society, Social Development Commission (SDC), the National Housing Trust (NHT) and the police and fire departments were on hand to provide residents with useful information.
In addition, residents were offered dental and eye screening exams, HIV testing and counselling and exercise techniques by a certified gym instructor, while the St. Elizabeth Health Department Wellness Bus did cholesterol tests and body checks.
“We also had Ministry of Health representatives for the parish talking about Influenza A (H1N1), giving an overview and telling persons about the symptoms and how to protect themselves from becoming infected,” she said.
Students from all the schools in the Balaclava and Maggotty health districts also participated in the health fair by submitting posters depicting healthy living and all aspects of health, as well as reciting poems and taking part in deejaying competitions.