Health Fair set for this weekend

Health consumers are ready to descend on the Nolan Center this weekend for reduced rates on a health profile and five other screenings.

The reduced rates on a health profile, prostate screening, hemoglobin A1C (a type of diabetic screening), vitamin D screenings, and a hepatitis C test are the centerpiece of the annual Health Fair, set for Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon.

Officials with Wrangell Medical Center held a preregistration March 21 and 22, but people looking to get a reduced rate on several kinds of medical tests can still show up to the fair. It also draws vendors from community organizations, such as the library, which shows promotes early literacy, Scouts, and other

community groups, according to Kris Reed, the hospital’s development coordinator.

“It’s kind of a general chance to talk to people about what they do,” she said.

Residents who are out of town during the Fair can still obtain the reduced rates for the tests through April 11.

All screenings will cost $25, except for the Hepatitis C screening, which costs $15, Reed said.

“The new one is Hep C,” she said. “It’s more or less recommended by the CDC.”

The hepatitis test is recommended particularly for Baby Boomers, or those born between 1945 and 1965, Reed said

Combined, these tests would cost $672.05, according to prices from last year, Reed said.

The event typically draws a large crowd. Last year’s event pulled in at least 500 people, though the number increases to almost 600 if you include

children, according to Reed. Attendance figures are based on participation in a health fair scavenger hunt, with stamped maps of the health fair used in a drawing for door prizes.

While the health fair is the annual health event of the year, more changes are in store this year than the additional screening, Reed said.

In past years, attendees only had to check a box to have the results of the tests released to their doctors automatically. However, since the majority of those results were headed to Wrangell Medical Center doctors and Alaska Island Community Services doctors, the amount of records generated from the health fair was overwhelming, Reed said.

“They (fair attendees) are still encouraged to check the box if they want the ability,” she said. “What’s different is that we’re not just sending it out to the doctors.”

Instead, this year the box simply gives Wrangell Medical Center permission to release the documents to doctors if they are requested. Fair organizers opted for this approach because the vast majority of attendees won’t need to see a doctor immediately, and the reduced amount of paperwork avoids overwhelming them, Reed said.

Residents are still able to obtain printed copies and bring them to the doctor by hand, he added.

More information about this weekend’s events is available at http://www.wrangellmedicalcenter.org under the health fair tab.