‘Spring Into Health’ at Local Fair

By Misty Cryer

Carlsbad Medical Center and the Eddy County Health Council are joining forces to host a “Spring Into Health” health fair at Carlsbad Medical Center.

“We encourage the community to attend to take advantage of free screenings and learn about all of the different healthcare services and resources that are available,” said Melissa Suggs, Marketing Director for Carlsbad Medical Center.

The health fair is set for 3:30-6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 8, according to Rhonda Jones, Coordinator for the Eddy County Health Council. It will be held in the back meeting rooms of the cafeteria at Carlsbad Medical Center, 2430 W. Pierce St.

“They’ll actually go through the cafeteria to get where we are,” she said. “It is kind of a mini health fair. There is going to be probably about 14 tables—so far—of various providers,” she added.

A weekday was chosen with the time to see if it is a better time for people to stop by after school or work, Jones explained, saying, “A lot of times, people are busy on the weekends. We’re hoping that this is a good time.”

“CMC is helping with the following aspects of the health fair: Family Medicine Residents with Pecos Valley Physician Group will be providing blood pressure and blood sugar checks. We will also have information on maternal health, heart health, and cancer care, as well as information on all of our primary care providers and specialists,” Suggs said.

“EMS will be providing hands-only CPR demonstrations and education, and the Vitalant Bloodmobile will be parked out front for the blood drive,” she said.

“The Downtown Lions are going to come in and do vision checks for the kids, so we were happy about that,” said Jones.

“Molina is going to be there with Tiffany Bailey Armendariz,” she added. “She will be giving information on Molina’s benefits. They work primarily with Medicaid.”

Jones said, “Transitional Housing will be there. They’ll be talking to people about emergency housing.”

Other providers mentioned by Jones include Lifehouse, Affirming Hearts, and Permian Basin Counseling. Along with other providers and resources within the county, Jones said, “United Way will be there talking about their 2-1-1 program that they have; it is utilized by a lot of people here in the county.”

The Eddy County Health Council has been in existence for about a year and five months and does a variety of things, said Jones. “We try to help in the county with behavioral issues, maternity issues—we are kind of emphasizing behavioral health and also health for the mother and the children,” she said, adding they address health-related issues that come to their attention.

“We meet once a month, and it’s usually the third Wednesday of the month around 4 o’clock,” said Jones. The meetings are held at the United Way office, she said, adding that the meeting is also available online via Zoom and is open to the public.

“We usually send out an e-mail to the people that have shown interest—that have come in the past—so they’ll know about the meeting, and they’ll know how to access Zoom,” said Jones. “Everyone is welcome to come. We’re always wanting input from people in the community to see what is out there and what we need,” she said.

“One of the projects that we’re working on that we haven’t gotten to fruition yet is a community garden,” said Jones. “We have the spot that we think will work, and we’re just working with the city now to try to get that finalized. I think they want to do some improvements to the area,” she said.

Since the council has not been able to start the garden, Jones said, “One of our board members, Raymond Dominguez, who works at the college, is going to start doing classes, and they’re open to the public. They are classes on gardening—planting a garden and tending to the garden—so that that will help,” she said.

For information about the gardening classes, Jones recommended contacting the college. She said she is unsure when the classes will start, but they should start soon.