Kimball Health Services holds health fair

The annual Kimball Health Fair was held on April 24, 2014. Before the doors were even officially opened, about 30 people were waiting outside in line. 360 people were seen at the health fair in total.

The purpose of the health fair is to get people who might not otherwise be inclined to see a doctor in to get blood tests. Penny Anderson, the event's coordinator for seven years, in association with community health care at the hospital, is retired but still volunteers her time to assist the hospital.

Before she retired, she was involved with community health and was a recovery room nurse.

In order to get the Kimball Health Fair off the ground, Anderson must communicate with the Wyoming Health Fair as well as the health care team, including Kerry Ferguson who handles quite a bit of the health fair's publicity. She also works with the phlebotomist from Kimball hospital.

"I also have to communicate with Kathy Tomoi, who does a lot of the blood draws, so I talk with her so she can get stuff ready," Anderson said.

Anderson gets a tentative date for the health fair a year in advance, usually right after the most recent health fair. She then starts planning for the event roughly two months in advance.

In order for the health fair to run as smoothly as possible, Ferguson makes sure to print information in the ads he posts. Information regarding things like, if people plan to attend the health fair they should be fasting a certain amount of time in advance.

While the primary service offered at the health fair is the blood draw, they also have the equipment present to test a person's lung strength, a good thing for smokers. Diabetes education was also offered at the health fair in order for people to remain informed.

In the past the health fair has seen as many as 450 people. However, this time the number was significantly lower.

"We didn't see as many people this year. We saw a little over 350. We usually get upwards of 450. I think that perhaps that's due to the fair being held in a new location. People might not have realized that," Anderson said.

Kathy Tomoi, the lab director at Kimball hospital, is one of the phlebotomists that works the health fair. Tomoi says that she starts getting ready for the health fair a year in advance. The Wyoming health fair sends down other phlebotomists and equipment in order to accommodate the health fair. This is great because then the staff at the hospital doesn't have to be lacking in order to facilitate the health fair.

Ferguson mentioned how good he thought it was that people were showing up to the health fair. Especially with the recent news that Kimball was the least healthy county in the sate.

"We are all trying to figure out how to get Kimball out of that spot. Part of the determining factor of that study done was the amount of health care people have access to, so we hope that the health fair helps people and prevents health problems as well," Ferguson said.

Addressing the issues of Kimball's health is tricky, given that the hospital cannot force any of the residents to go to the doctor to start gaining the benefits of regular medical help. However, the hospital can hold events like the health fair in order to entice people to take better care of themselves, which will hopefully put Kimball in better shape as a county.

Due to the possible scenario that less people showed up to the health fair because of the change in location, Anderson mentioned that there may be the chance of a second health fair being held.

"We're thinking actually of doing a second one, probably with the flu shot clinic. Hopefully that will allow more people to attend," Anderson said.

Since the health fair is usually held once annually having a second one could be of great benefit. It would make health care more accessible to the people of Kimball County and that would factor in to the county's overall health improving. This improvement could potentially push Kimball out of its current spot of least healthy county in Nebraska. The health fair is there to help people learn about their current state of being regarding their health. After they learn what is or isn't ailing them, they can make the decisions that will allow them to live a better, healthier life.