MEMBER NEWS
31-YEAR, VOLUNTEER-RUN, NONPROFIT HEALTH FAIR COMES TO LENEXA
Lenexa, KS – Lenexa United Methodist Church at 9138 Caenen Lake Rd. is the May 13 – 15 location for the first of what is intended to become annual, metro-wide sites for free and low-cost health screenings and education that address today’s most critical health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, prostate cancer, eye disease and more. The fair runs from 7am to noon each of the three dates. Anyone age 18 and older can participate, insured or uninsured. Personal blood screening results are mailed directly to participants to share with their physicians, while critical results generate a contact within 72 hours by volunteer doctors and nurses.
9 Health Fair is run by the community for the community and is the most affordable way for people with or without health insurance to access a complete baseline check. Driven by 19,000 volunteers annually, it is Colorado’s oldest and largest nonprofit that offers quality health screenings and education to the general adult public. It is a very economical way for businesses to provide preventive health screenings to employees.
The organization annually serves more than 90,000 attendees in 170 communities in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and now Kansas. Lenexa site organizer, Rev. Jennifer Bryan, who serves as Ecumenical Community Outreach Deacon at Lenexa United Methodist Church, envisions the spread of this model to sites across the KC metro as early as 2011. This first fair is drawing faculty and student support from among many qualified medical training facilities, including JCCC School of Practical Nursing, KU School of Pharmacy, and UMKC School of Pharmacy.
Medical professionals from Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Community Blood Center, St. Luke’s South Hospital, and Quest Diagnostics are voluntarily staffing the lab that will provide blood draws for three, optional, low-cost screenings:
- a $30 Blood Chemistry screening, which includes 28 different blood chemistry tests to provide information on blood sugar (glucose), good and bad cholesterol, triglycerides, liver and kidney function, bone, and muscle; it may show warning signs of diabetes, heart disease and other concerns
- a $25 Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) screening for men age 40 or older, which checks for prostate gland issues and cancer
- a $15 Blood Count screening, which checks for anemia and the health of your blood
Only one blood draw is necessary whether a participant wants one, two, or all three of these screenings. However, an overnight fast is required for accuracy, and is one of the reasons doors open at 7 am each fair date.
- a $20 Colon Cancer screening take-home kit is another optional screening; this kit is later mailed to Quest Diagnostics for analysis.
All fair participants can access free screenings including blood pressure, pulse oximetry, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), vision, glaucoma, finger stick glucose, hearing (May 13 and 14 only), a “Talk with a Health Professional” station, and an “Ask a Pharmacist” station. Interactive education is another focus of the fair, providing not only free educational materials on a variety of health topics, but also discussion with volunteers personally acquainted with specific health issues, for example recipients of donated organs, cancer survivors, and others who know the value of health screening.
Complimentary vouchers provided by 9 Health Fair will allow access to the 28-panel blood chemistry analysis for 40 medically underserved individuals; these vouchers will be distributed by Johnson County Human Services. “For 30 years this model has made a profound difference in the lives of many who otherwise might not have benefitted from early detection of health problems,” notes Rev. Bryan, who goes on to say, “In year 31, we want to bring its benefits to our neighbors. It’s about helping each other take care of each other. When we commit to the well-being of others, we proactively address some of the concerns we all share. This is truly a community service, with a broad base of local support. Working together makes it happen.”
More than 100 volunteers, medical and non-medical, are required each day to staff something of this magnitude. Individuals are welcome to volunteer online at www.9healthfair.org. Click “Sign up to Volunteer.” This information is secure and used only to contact people to determine placement and date of service. The need is for nonmedical individuals who want to greet and help guide participants to the next available screening. Persons can work one, two, or all three fair days.
According to the Denver-based nonprofit, the average participant at a 9 Health Fair is a female in her 50’s who has both employment and health insurance coverage. The mission of 9 Health Fair is to promote health awareness and to encourage individuals to assume responsibility for their own health.
For a list of all fair sites, visit http://www.9healthfair.org/find/find.aspx . For screenings at the local site, select Lenexa in the drop-down menu.
About 9Health Fair
9Health Fair is Colorado’s largest non-profit, volunteer-driven health fair program that promotes health awareness and encourages individuals to assume responsibility for their own health. Created by a National Institutes of Health project and 9NEWS, 9Health Fair’s free and low-cost health screenings and education program has earned unique endorsements from the Colorado Medical Society, the Colorado Nurses Association and the Colorado Hospital Association. Since 1980, 9Health Fair has impacted 1.7 million lives. As an independent 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, 9Health Fair is proud of its financial management performance, keeping its administration and fundraising expense under 17 percent of its total budget, well under the industry average of 20-25 percent. Major sponsors for the 2010 9Health Fair include 9NEWS, Quest Diagnostics, GE and King Soopers. Special thanks to The Colorado National Guard for its continued 9Health Fair support through delivering supplies to volunteers and sites around the state.
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