Women and children in the community will benefit from a health fair featuring free screenings on March 7th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the grounds of Bloss Medical Clinic at 1251 Grove Street in Atwater.

Screenings will be provided for diabetes, high blood pressure, vision and hearing. California Dental Surgicenter will provide dental screenings.

Women will receive free manual breast exams inside the clinic by one of the providers. Education will be provided on issues such as heart health, diabetes, asthma, skin cancer, dental care, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, pap smears and poison control.

The health fair is being offered in conjunction with Soroptimist International of Atwater’s “Day of Service.” It is the second collaborative event of this kind brought about by Soroptimist and Castle Family Health Centers.

Saturday of Service is designated as the first Saturday in March. At this time, Soroptimist clubs all over the United States join together for a hands-on service in their respective communities to celebrate International Women’s Day. Soroptimist clubs throughout the United States participate in a project that shows what Soroptimist is about, which is improving the lives of women and girls.

On March 7th, Soroptimist will partner with Castle Family Health Centers to reach out to low income women and those without health insurance by providing this health fair to help meet some of their medical needs and help prevent future problems.

Describing the 2008 event, Trisha Backers, one of the members of the Castle Family Health Centers/Soroptimist joint partnership for Day of Service, said, “Last year, we had over 500 show up for the free screenings.”

Barbara Stroud, another member of the partnership, said, “The majority of the people who come speak only Spanish.”

There is a need for volunteers who speak both Spanish and English to help at the fair.
Alice Kieffer, Marketing/Outreach Coordinator for Castle Family Health Centers, said, “We’re going to have volunteers from Atwater High School there and Rotary Interact, the youth group from the Atwater Rotary Club, will be translating.”

Other participants will be Atwater Police Activities League, Atwater Police Cadets, Asthma Coalition, WIC, Valley Crisis Center (domestic abuse), Head Start, Mental Health, Public Health Young Parents Program, American Cancer Society and Girl Scouts.

There will be free fingerprinting of children, face painting for children, and a car seat safety class.

Kieffer said, “The Atwater Police Cadets will be doing the cooking of the hot dogs!”
Stroud added, “There will be a raffle, and everybody gets a ticket that comes.”
For further information about the upcoming health fair, those interested can contact Castle Family Health Centers at (209) 381-2000, ext. 7210, 7211, 7213, 7214 or 7215.