Bradley County Medical Center – Community Health Fair

Overview

The annual Bradley County Health Fair was held on April 29 at the Donald W. Reynolds YMCA. Many changes were implemented this year to be more accessible and better meet the needs of residents of Bradley County and surrounding areas, including a change in the structure of health screenings, venue, marketing strategy, and offered activities. The theme for the 2017 health fair was “Game on to a Healthy Life. It’s Your Move.” The theme was developed in efforts to empower participants to be proactive about their health and to provide a cohesive element with offered activities, including an original concept for “Healthopoly.” One area of change was to make the marketing and activities more “kid friendly” with hopes of attracting a broader demographic than previous years.

For the first time, the Bradley County Health Fair partnered with the Arkansas Department of Health’s Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities to offer their Barber and Beauty Shop Health Initiative (BBSHI), which they describe as a program that exists to: “Increase public awareness about heart disease and stroke. The goal is to empower minorities to better understand hypertension (high blood pressure) prevention and management.” Being located in an area of the state where incidences of poor health outcomes are more prevalent and preventable health factors such as smoking, obesity, inactivity, and education are high, the Health Fair Planning Committee wanted to take a more aggressive approach to screening, education, and follow-up. The BBSHI allowed participants to receive structured health screenings and education at no charge. Printed materials were available to send home with participants as well as “health passports” that allowed medical volunteers to document results for participants to take with them for future reference. The Bradley County Health Unit recruited the medical volunteers needed to implement the BBSHI and oversaw the setup and operation of this event.

Nearly 90 volunteers assisted at the event. New activities in 2017 included:

• Healthopoly – This is a life-sized Monopoly board that has been altered to (1) educate participants about local health resources; (2) teach participants how to complete various exercises and instill confidence that exercise can be completed, regardless of age or fitness level, and without expensive equipment; and (3) create a platform for nutritional education.
• Scavenger Hunt Bingo – The goal was to encourage participants to receive education from a variety of sources; it was distributed to all participants at registration. Attendees were to visit booths of their choice and have the vendor validate their card until they made a “bingo” on their board. All persons that completed the card were entered to win a door prize.
• Potting Station – This was created to educate participants about how to plant and grow healthy food for themselves. They were provided with biodegradable planters, seeds of their choice, and potting soil along with instruction. To appeal to a younger demographic, stickers were available to decorate the planters.
• Sunvisor Craft/Insect Safety Station – This was a fun area for kids, but it also allowed the staff a platform to educate children on the importance of practicing safe sun habits while educating them on how to stay safe from insect bites during the spring and summer months.

The health fair included 55 vendors. Free HIV screenings were offered by South Arkansas Fights AIDS. Free vision screenings were offered by the Warren Lions Club. A variety of health education and information available. Children enjoyed the ACH Fire Safety House operated by the Warren Fire Department. Car seat checks were performed, with some car seats being issued to children for a properly fitted, safe seat. For the first time, translators were available in all divisions of the health fair to better meet the needs of the growing Hispanic community.

Impact

More than 450 people attended the health fair. Compared with the 2016 health fair, there was a 12 percent increase in participation. The BBSHI screened 93 participants.

Lessons Learned

The health fair was planned as a joint venture of the Bradley County Health Fair Committee and the Bradley County Hometown Coalition for Health. Meetings were held on a regular basis to establish key goals for the health fair and then to implement in a way that was most beneficial for the community. This approach seemed to be an effective means of pooling community resources and enriching the offerings of the health fair. It will be recommended to the Bradley County Hometown Health Coalition that the planning continue to be a joint effort in future years.

The Health Fair Committee recognized that additional efforts beyond the health fair will be necessary to make an impact on the overall health of the community. A community engagement initiative was hosted prior to the health fair with a focus on physical activity, disease prevention, and literacy. The program took place from March 1, 2017, through April 27, 2017. It was a collaborative effort between the Health Fair Committee, Donald W. Reynolds YMCA, Bradley County Health Unit, and Warren Branch Library. The initiative encouraged residents to get involved with local resources and take steps toward a healthier lifestyle. Incentives were offered to improve community participation. The total number of participants was 31, less than what the committee hoped to achieve, but overall it was a positive addition to the health fair and will be continued in future years. One area for improvement would be data gathering to determine if participants were drawn to the local health resources for the initiative or if they were existing patrons.

In previous years, the health fair was held just outside of town. The change in venue to the YMCA was recommended to provide a more centralized location for participants and to improve accessibility by housing all of the educational and screening opportunities in one location.

Future Goals

There was a 40 percent decline in participation among Hispanics, which contradicts the goal of the health fair to improve offerings and reach the county’s minority population. The planning committee will identify additional ways to reach this demographic. All prizes were health related with the goal of increasing physical activity by those winning prizes. For future events, additional fundraiser ideas will be considered and likely will occur at various times throughout the year to prevent distractions from the event itself.

Healthopoly was a huge hit among participants. For future events, the board will be reassembled at no cost and have the potential to bring in advertising revenue by selling those spaces.

Contact: Tiffany Holland, R.N.
Director, Risk Management/Safety
Telephone: 870-226-4541
Email: tholland@bcmed.org