First health fair draws cross section of community
One woman's goal of helping her zip code become less of a health care desert came true Saturday.
The inaugural Pilot Point Health Fair gave about 100 members of the Pilot Point community and a host of vendors the opportunity to connect about resources available nearby.
'God planted the idea in my head, and I knew of three ladies who could help pull this off: Renee Polk, Abigail Allen and Wendy Adkins,' Pilot Point Health Fair Foundation President Maria Jones said. 'My goal was to help our community and surrounding areas become more aware of the health services offered right here.'
Jones, who works for Den- ton Freedom House, headed up the organization efforts, wrangling nearly 40 vendors to provide their services to the residents of Pilot Point and the surrounding area.
Vendors such as Texas Health Resources, which came out with a mobile unit outside that offered free mammograms, as well as a mini lab to check blood glucose, cholesterol and prostate levels in addition to a separate table that gave blood pressure checks and information were available.
In total, there were 41 blood pressure checks, 14 mammograms, 58 lipid and A1C tests, 18 prostatespecifi c antigen checks and 10 units of blood collected by Carter Blood-Care.
'A lot of people are interested in knowing what their numbers are, which is really important because if you don't check your blood pressure, you're not going to know what your blood pressure is,' said Paula Miller, Texas Health program manager and registered nurse. 'If your numbers are high, you might not know it because there are often no symptoms associated with high blood pressure.'
She added that the event was 'extremely worthwhile' from her perspective as a vendor.
Pilot Point resident Bonnie White, who attended the health fair, said 'we have long needed this.'
'I've never seen this before,' she said. 'I'm glad that we're here. I need this today, and I'm thankful.'
Kerri Dane brought her daughter Sara Dane to check out the vendors at the start of the event, where she learned about Vitality IV Therapy and Wellness in Tioga.
'I'm super excited about that,' she said, after describing how she likes having an IV to hydrate after being sick.
Bryan Bellah said he was 'tickled to see this happening in Pilot Point.'
'What surprises me today is all those opportunities out there, they're just up the road,' he said.
Mary Keeten, a long-time Pilot Point resident, gave the event a 10, especially because of the breast cancer screening and prostate blood tests.
'People that missed out, I hope they will know [and come] next time,' she said.
Dr. David Lee with Pilot Point Dentistry said he wants to focus not just on treatment for his patients but also prevention, which is why he was both a sponsor and a vendor.
'It's good to participate on a good cause,' Lee said. 'We're trying to bring awareness to the prevention and also what happens after instead of just talking about the treatment itself.'
He also gave a presentation regarding good dental care in the afternoon.
Stacy Condon, a Pilot Point resident and the radiology manager for Methodist Celina Medical Center, was happy to see the creation of the Pilot Point Health Fair.
'This is a huge milestone,' she said. 'It's a great groundbreaking opportunity for us to move forward in this kind of health care desert that we've been in.'
Polk, who serves as the Pilot Point ISD school board president, said she loved seeing the outcome of the months of planning.
'I love the number of vendors that we have here; I love watching the networking going on between vendors,' she said. 'That's really huge and that's something I have not thought about, but it's a great opportunity for all of our vendors to know each other and how they can work together.'
For Polk, a breast cancer survivor, it was also great to have the free mammogram checks as well as representatives from the National Breast Cancer Foundation at the event.
'It is such an exceptional opportunity for people to get early screening, because that's key to success and it's a free service,' Polk said.
The day kicked off with a greeting by Mayor Chad Major, who later in the day said he is excited to see the health fair grow from a good start over the years.
Adkins, who is the Main Street and marketing director for the city of Pilot Point, helped escort emcee Justine Scott from booth to booth for the raffle drawings.
Scott's mother, Bev Wollaston, led two Tai chi demonstrations to help the vendors and attendees break up their day with movement.
Although several of the vendors were from health care businesses, some were from health-supporting industries, such as the city's Parks and Recreation Department as well the Ray Roberts Lake State Park Isle du Bois Unit or other nonprofits such as Hearts for Homes and Meals on Wheels.
'It's a great community event, and it being the first one, it's kind of exciting to see all of the activities and all of the different organizations that are here,' IDB Superintendent Mark Stewart said. 'We're happy to be here and to be a place for people to come out and outdoor recreate and be able to spend time with families and be outside, away from the hustle and bustle.'
Several entities supported the health fair in the form of sponsorships: Methodist Celina Medical Center, Pilot Point Dentistry, the Lake Ray Roberts Rotary Club, Concho Hearts Hospice, Bardwell Ink and TexomaCare Whitesboro.
'This event would not have been possible without those who contributed to the fair's success,” Jones said. “A big thank you to all our sponsors, hosts, and vendors for making the fair possible, and to all the attendees for making it worthwhile.”
Jones, Polk, Adkins and Allen hope to learn from the feedback from the first event and to grow the health fair year after year with their eyes already on plans for next year.
'The four of us hoped the fair would increase health awareness, provide easier access to resources and ultimately promote a healthier community,' Jones said. 'It was truly a way for me and Denton Freedom House to give back to a community that gives so much to us.'
