During the morning of Friday, September 6, 2013, UTMB Health Integrated Rural Training Track Residents, Dr. Estela Mota-Garcia (Program Year 3) and Dr. Erick F. Alvarez (Program Year 2) represented UTMB and the Youens & Duchicela Clinic of Weimar by having a booth at the Flatonia Health Fair in Flatonia, Texas.
The Health Fair was held from 9AM to noon at the Flatonia Civic Center and was sponsored by the Oak Manor Nursing Center. The UTMB Health booth was one of 30 booths at the fair and promoted Primary Care by offering the community blood pressure checks and glucose reading.
By providing screenings, our physicians have an opportunity to publicize their clinical services and network with community organizations. Residents physicians benefit from the opportunity for service education, mentoring from more senior clinicians and working together to provide a community service. Health fairs provide the community with the opportunity for screenings, preventive services and education at no or low cost; therefore, health fairs are beneficial for all.
Many attendees have limited access to care. Several recent studies observed that nearly half of health fair participants in underserved and vulnerable communities do not have primary care health professionals or health insurance. For them, the immunizations, hypertension and blood glucose screenings and education about diet and lifestyle may be the only such services they receive.
A health fair simply cannot replace the care provided in a conventional clinic setting. It is a common goal to reach out to the community at health fairs and encouraged them to follow up with a physician so they can better serve the totality of their healthcare needs.