By Staff
ORGAN DONATION Angela Gunn, left, marketing coordinator for the Mississippi Eye Bank, speaks with Betty Ruth Moore and Evelyn and Edgar Wolfe about organ and tissue donations during the Senior Safety and Community Health Fair. The fair was held Thursday at The Specialty Hospital of Meridian. Photo by Paula Merritt / The Meridian Star.
By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
Oct. 18, 2002
Dorothy Reed, 69, came from Kemper County Thursday to take advantage of free health screenings in Meridian.
Reed was one of about 300 people, mostly senior citizens, who showed up within the first three hours of the Senior Safety and Community Health Fair at The Specialty Hospital of Meridian.
The first fair was held last year. This year, it included 27 information booths and 15 health screening stations.
More elbow room in second year
Several seniors who came to last year's fair said the set up was roomier and more convenient.
Barb Dobrosky, state program director of the Alzheimer's Association, said several people asked about her organization including a man from Enterprise who told her he was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's disease in December.
Other health-related booths included Weems Community Mental Health Center. Amy Bishop, director of alcohol and drug services at Weems, said the booth was busy all morning.
Safety issues
The Triad booth was a popular stop.
The Triad program, implemented more than a year ago in Lauderdale County, is a three-way effort among the sheriff's department, local police and the American Association of Retired Persons to reduce the possibility of senior citizens becoming crime victims.
It also focuses on getting emergency help to seniors quickly and efficiently.
About 40 seniors picked up house number sets at the booth between 9 a.m. and noon. Participants were also able to get cards they could fill out and keep in case of an emergency. The card lists their family contacts, doctors, health plans, Medicaid and Medicare numbers, allergies and prescriptions.
Calhoun said there are plans to provide smoke detectors and weather radios for seniors.
For more information about the Triad program, write to: Triad, c/o The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department, 2001 Fifth St., Meridian, MS 39301.