GILROY — The Gilroy Community Health Day Committee invites
residents and their families to a day of free health services and
education on Saturday, September 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY — The Gilroy Community Health Day Committee invites residents and their families to a day of free health services and education on Saturday, September 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The 2004 Health Day is the first of it’s kind put on by the committee, and is completely free. The focus this year is on obesity and diabetes issues, as well as the needs of an increasing amount of uninsured and underinsured families.
“It’s pretty grim, people can’t afford health care,” said Kaiser Health Education Manager Debra Stone.
Kaiser is part of the health day committee that is putting on the event. The committee itself is made up of more than 23 local businesses who have come together to provide health services throughout the community, and to increase awareness and access to health care resources.
“The community here has a lot of health needs … we felt very strongly that one-stop screenings were not sufficient,” said Stone, adding that the main focus of the event was educating families about how to receive care for the long term.
“We really want to try to make this an annual thing.”
Attendees can take advantage of a wide range of services in both English and Spanish, most of which focus on health risks related to obesity.
These services include: nutritional cooking demonstrations, exercise tips, blood pressure screening, diabetes testing, diabetes education classes, HIV testing, low-cost childhood immunizations, free dental exams, and the “ID a Kid” Child Safety program.
There will also be several tables from low and no-cost health care providers in the community, where attendees can sign up for follow-up care.
There will also be entertainment and a raffle featuring bicycles and helmets as prizes.
The Health Day will be held at the Kaiser Center on 7520 Arroyo Circle, south of the Gilroy Outlets, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 11.
Admission and parking are free.
For more information, call the Kaiser Health Education Center at (408) 848-4690.
