With the goal of promoting healthy living practices to the North Long Beach community, the Leadership Long Beach class of 2009 will host a Health & Wellness Fair at Houghton Park on June 6 that will feature Vice Mayor Val Lerch and First Lady Nancy Foster, as well as dozens of health experts and medical companies. The lbpost.com is proud to be a co-sponsor of the event.
One of the biggest benefits for attendees of the event – which runs from 12:00-4:00pm – is the opportunity for free vision, dental, hearing, blood glucose and blood pressure screenings. These services will be performed by experts and are free to the public.
“The Leadership Long Beach Class of 2009 identified preventive health services as a critical need for our community, and I support their efforts wholeheartedly,” said Vice Mayor Val Lerch, in a statement. “I especially encourage residents who may not have health insurance or who may be forgoing preventive screenings to bring their families and take advantage of the vital services offered at this free event.”
Members of Leadership Long Beach must hold a graduation project in order to complete the program, and in the interest of disclosure, I am involved in the project. Our goal was to hold an event that would bring the community together to discuss healthy living. There will be activities for children, as well as free giveaways and a prize drawing. Vice Mayor Lerch and First Lady Foster will speak, while Long Beach Memorial Hospital is a sponsor and will provide several services for attendees.
“More than 1 million California residents have lost their jobs in the last 18-months of the recession, and more than 500,000 have lost their health insurance in the same time frame,” said Raúl A. Añorve, co-chair of the event. “One of our values as community leaders is promoting the health and well-being of our community. Through this health fair, we plan to bring important resources directly to residents, and work towards bridging the gap in preventive care.”
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor