Boundary Community Hospital Health Fair a tremendous success

May 23, 2015

by Marcia Morman Director of Marketing and Communications Boundary Community Hospital Over 700 people attended this year’s popular Health Fair hosted on Saturday, May 9, by Boundary Community Hospital. The Fun Runs of 3K, 5K and 10K pulled 168 runners out of bed early on the beautiful Saturday morning in May. Registration began at 7:00 a.m. The first 70 participants pre-registered were given a blue T-Shirt with the Fun Run’s logo on the front. Wanda Wilkerson lead warm-up stretches prior to the race, and they were off. Jim Cadnum timed the runners. Preston Johnson came in first in the Men’s 5K; Kelly Smith was first in the Women’s 5K; Paul Bonnell was first in the Men’s 10K and Sarah Byars was first in the Women’s10K.  In the Women's 3K, it was Courtney Tucker taking first place, we are still checking on the men's winner in this event. Rachel Figgins, Marketing Assistant at Boundary Community Hospital and vendor organizer, reported that over 50 vendors attended this year’s fair. Touring the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) Trailer to see how the scanner works was a popular stop for the Health Fair attendees. MRI scanners use magnetic fields and radio waves to form images of the body. The technique is widely used in hospitals for medical diagnosis, staging of disease and for follow-up. MRIs are available at the hospital every Thursday. LifeFlight Networks, a medical helicopter transport service, had a free drawing for a one year Membership at their booth. The hospital’s Lab department gave out 161 Lipid Panel Cholesterol coupons valued at $79.00 each, and 24 Hemoglobin A1C Coupons. Over fifty vendors gave away free items, and free information and were on hand to explain their programs and community contributions. The Women’s Cancer Support Group raffled a beautiful locally made quilt. Sue Cortez, manager of the Nutritional Department at the hospital, baked over 500 home-made cookies for the attendees. Fifty kids came to the Bicycle Rodeo, progressing from one station to the next, filling out their passport cards and learning about bicycle safety at each stop. Jennifer English and the entire crew at Boundary Community Clinics organized the Bike Rodeo. Far North Outfitters was on hand to give free bicycle tune-ups. The last station at the Bike Rodeo was the bike helmet station where proper helmet fitting was taught. Those needing a bicycle helmet received one for free. Outside, the hospital parking lot was filled with fire trucks, ambulances and a plant sale funding the Extended Care Facility residents. Health Fair organizer, Marcia Morman, stated, “We get so much positive feedback about the Health Fair. It is overwhelming the amount of people who invest at the local level by representing their health organization or hospital department with a vendor booth. I hear, time and again, from health vendors who live outside our community that our town’s Health Fair is far above better than any other that they attend. There is unbelievable community support by both those who participate and those who attend.”