Health fair ensures wellbeing in Red Bay
Keller Home Care’s Tracy Ray checks blood sugar for health fair attendee Sue Entrekin.
PHOTO BY ALISON JAMES Sonya Faulkner, RN and clinical liaison at Red Bay Hospital, checks blood pressure for Katrine Moore, one of many who stopped by the Red Bay Hospital and Keller Home Care health fair Thursday
Keller Home Care’s Tracy Ray checks blood sugar for health fair attendee George B. Shaw Sr.
At a cluster of tables outside Redmont Pharmacy, citizens who stopped by could get a free reading of their vital signs and receive health and wellness information, as well as register for door prizes and enjoy refreshments.
The Thursday health fair was coordinated and run by Red Bay Hospital clinical liaison Sonya Faulkner, food service director Sue Hellums and Tracy Ray from Keller Home Care.
“We try to do an annual health fair in the community,” Faulkner said. “We want the community to stay healthy, and part of being healthy is routine checks.”
Faulkner said the fair also provided an opportunity to promote local medical services, both inpatient and outpatient for myriad health needs.
Ray said a crucial part of the health fair was just to make people more aware of their health and wellness, especially from a dietary standpoint, which can affect so many health factors.
“In this part of the country, people have bad eating habits, here in the South. My goal always has been to make them more aware of what they put in they put in their mouth and how it affects their body,” Ray said. “I care about people. I know that sounds cliché, but I really do.”
Hellums said that’s what it really comes down to: the people they can help.
“We are here for the community. We want to keep them advised on what they need to check with their doctor,” Hellums said. “It’s just an awareness thing. We like to get out in the community because we’re part of the community, and we want to be that face for the community.”
Turnout for the annual health fairs, Faulkner said, usually hits between 75-125 people – like
Sue Entrekin, who stopped by the fair for a wellness check. “I wanted to stop by and support the hospital and its endeavors,” Entrekin said. “We love our community hospital, and we want to do anything we can to support it.”
