The 2009 St. Francis Hospital and Maryville Parks and Recreation co-sponsored Second Annual Health Fair Saturday was a success.
More than 250 participants took part in the Health Fair, walking from booth to booth collecting information about various businesses and services. There were 25 vendors set up at the Maryville Community Center.
Booths were set up at the free event to offer fair goers information on health and information services such as chiropractors, nursing homes, counseling, hospice/home care, reflexology, massage therapy, fitness centers, cancer, assistance programs, mental health and eye health.
Teri Harr, health education coordinator at St. Francis, said she thought it went well because they had improved the process from last year, making the event seem to go more smoothly.
"It's always nice to see people wanting to change some lifestyle habits and improve their health at the same time," Harr said.
Maryville resident Mary Antrim said she wanted to go to the Health Fair because she's always been interested in learning about healthy lifestyle choices.
Antrim even took part in a fitness test put on by volunteers from the Community Center. Antrim joked that she wanted to try it, "just to see how bad she is out of shape."
"I'm interested in health all around," she added. "I think it's (the free Health Fair) nice. I think it's really beneficial to a lot of people, and it's nice to be able to take part in the free blood testing."
The Health Fair provided wellness screenings to those who wished to have testing such as:
• Fasting blood test — which measures HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar
• Height/weight/BMI/waist circumference
• Bone density
• Fitness testing
• Lung function
• Blood pressure
Something new from last year's event was the blood drive that went on that same day. Harr said 21 people donated blood that morning.
Maryville, Mo. —
