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Health fair helps residents take charge

Event provides free, low-cost screenings

Jim Shafer wants to know what those odd little blemishes on his hand are, but he doesn’t have a regular doctor. So, the Dolores resident came to the 9News Health Fair on Saturday at Escalante Middle School in Durango, where health-care professionals offered a variety of services for free.

“I just have a few questionable spots, and I’d like to get them to look at them and see what they have to say,” Shafer said.

He said he seeks medical attention as needed, but “that’s getting harder and harder.”

The National Institutes of Health started the fair as a pilot program 35 years ago with help from the Colorado Lions Club, said organizer and Southwest Women’s Health nurse practitioner Karen Zink. Sponsored for many years now by 9News in Denver, the Durango Lions Club now provides local help. Of the 17 states that originally ran the pilot health fair, Colorado is the only state that kept and expanded the program, Zink said.

She said anyone can benefit from the fair, which gets major support from local health-care providers. Participants can have blood drawn, lung function tested, a spinal examination, get their vision checked, test their hearing, get oral and dental health examinations, test bone density, be screened for skin cancer or just speak to a doctor about general health issues, among other services.

“It’s about learning,” Zink said. “What does glucose mean, what does cholesterol mean, what do liver enzymes mean – It’s educating people and giving them control and ownership in their health-care transaction. “

The 9News Health Fair’s slogan is fitting: “Own your health,” Zink added.

“Our goal is to maximize access for people to get the work done,” said Carmen Ritz, a physician in charge of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango.

Most of the screenings are offered at no cost, and cost is minimal for lab processing.

“A lot of time, people don’t have the money for lab work,” Ritz said. “This fair offers inexpensive health care. You can talk to the health pros. People can get those simple screenings and get medical questions answered that they may not be able to afford.”

Registered nurse Carol Pearse said she is proud to be a part of the fair.

“It decompresses a lot of people that are worried about things that they don’t need to be worried about,” she said, “and it helps people that may need a little bit of prompting, that do need to seek medical treatment.”

Former emergency medical technician Laura Carman volunteered drawing blood, taking samples from participants, some a bit nervous at the sight of a needle.

“I had a guy who said 10 years ago he came in and had his blood checked. He found out he had prostate cancer,” she said. “It saved his life. That says it right there.”

bmathis@durangoherald.com



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