Healthy living takes center stage at Methodist Hospitals’ annual free fall community health fair

St. Timothy Community Church in Gary welcomed attendees to Methodist Hospitals’ annual Free Fall Community Health Fair on Saturday, October 17. This event is hosted every year by Methodist Hospitals to provide free screenings, such as blood glucose and cholesterol tests, as well as heart attack and stroke risk assessments and other resources to the community.

Arkeya Lee, phlebotomy supervisor of the Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus, was working a blood draw station during the health fair. She believes this free event is a great way for people to catch small problems early in a cost-efficient way. 

“Some people don’t have insurance, so it’s great to assist those people. We have blood draws, blood pressure, health screenings, and more. A lot of people who come to the health fair live within walking distance as well,” Lee said.

Lee, who is a Gary native herself, recognizes the value that the health fair offers to the Gary community in particular. She noted that health conditions such as cholesterol and diabetes are two issues that are not only linked, but also impact people throughout the Region.

Dr. Grace Omotosho is a family medicine physician at the Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus. While this is her first year being a part of the health fair, participating in this event to provide necessary health information to patients is a major priority to her.

“This event helps capture a lot of chronic medical problems people don’t know about. People can easily come in here, check their vitals, do their blood work, and learn if there is an abnormality that needs to be addressed,” Omotosho said. “We also have breast cancer screening, which is super important because many people don’t do it until they reach a certain age. It’s a great thing for the community and would help to increase the life expectancy of the people in our communities.”

Omotosho hosted a vendor’s table called “Ask A Doc,” where attendees could come up to her with any question they had on a range of topics, including dietary modifications, lifestyle patterns, and more.

“In some situations, medical problems need to be followed up on because they might be red flags that can shorten life expectancy,” Omotosho said. “These visitors can come to me, and if I don’t have the direct answer, I can guide them to the appropriate specialty that can help them.”

Methodist Hospitals has been hosting this health fair for several years. Gabrielle Irons has consistently attended the event over the past decade in no small part due to the quality of educational resources Methodist Hospitals provides.

“The consistency of good care is what keeps bringing me back. This helps me stay healthy myself instead of always depending on somebody else. Yes, you want to go to the doctor, but you also need little things like this to educate yourself on blood testing and figure out what the problem is before you go to the doctor’s office,” said Irons.

Sarah Baran, director of neuroscience at Methodist Hospitals, has also participated in the health fair for a number of years. As an employee for 27 years, she has seen firsthand how much this event has advanced over time.

“We’ve noticed more members of the community attending. We’ve also expanded our staff to provide more services each time,” Baran said. “We always ask for feedback from the community as well. It’s important to know what they would like to see, and then we meet and discuss how we can implement it.”

Each year, the health fair reunites familiar faces while also bringing in new ones. Methodist Hospitals lives by its mission to provide high quality health care services to all those in need.

“We’re here to provide the best service to every person in our community to the best of our ability,” Baran said. “The support from our executive team and our board allows us to do this. We realize that we serve underserved populations. We have provided a lot of healthcare to those who are under-insured or non-insured. That’s why these events are so important to us because we want to give the community opportunities to be proactive in maintaining good health.”

Free flu shots were also available at the health fair. Other notable services that attendees had an opportunity to learn about were osteoporosis prevention, the Sexual Assault awareness and Recovery (STAR) Center, and the new CareFirst Immediate Care that will open soon inside the new Gary YMCA.

After checking out each service, all health fair attendees were treated to a pancake and sausage breakfast.

For more information on Methodist Hospitals, you can visit methodisthospitals.org.