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Promoting better health...
More than 400 people packed into North Elementary School on Saturday during a community event that focused on promoting personal health and wellness.
The annual health and wellness day has grown into a "comprehensive community education event," said Doreen Krabbenhoft, development director with St. Luke's Elmore medical center. According to crowd estimates, this year's event was the largest of its kind in Mountain Home, Krabbenhoft said.
"We had some very good numbers this year. It's very well attended," added Betty VanGheluwe, a spokesperson with the Mountain Home medical center. "We have so many new faces this year, and I'm excited about that."
Providing "one-stop shopping" for various health and wellness information, the school gymnasium and adjacent hallways were packed with booths and tables featuring an assortment of services. In the main hallway for example, Dennis Burks from the Mountain Home Lions Club was one of several volunteers that provided free eye screenings for people like Pat Steele.
Meanwhile, medical specialists were busy in the gymnasium conducting additional services. Cyndi Hipwell was one of the dozens of people that registered to have their blood drawn that morning.
A majority of these blood tests were designed to check for cholesterol and blood-sugar counts as well as thyroid hormone levels. A few patients had their blood screened to check for the warning signs of prostate cancer.
In an adjoining table, paramedic Wendy Vanderburgh from the Elmore Ambulance Service was busy administered immunizations to help people like Erika Wolfgang guard against the yearly flu season.
Medical specialists also conducted nearly 60 additional tests that morning to gauge peoples' bone density levels. Those exams were looking for possible signs of osteoporoses -- a disease where bones become thin and weak and become more prone to break.
As people walked from table to table, a few took a seat for an update on the state's health insurance exchange. Representatives from the Glenns Ferry Health Center held the briefings to highlight the program as provisions of the national health care law started to take affect.
While some displays showcased various health and wellness services local companies provide, others like the Community Partnerships of Idaho sought to raise public awareness of different medical conditions. Dressed in solid green and white costumes that concealed their identities, volunteers Miguel Pelletier and Eric Holt walked around the school to help spread awareness regarding autism -- a development disability that affect a person's behavior as well as their social and communication skills.
Other booths at the fair sought to help people make healthier choices in their lives. That was the focus of a booth run by the Treasure Valley YMCA, which focused on how much sugar is contained in popular sodas and energy drinks.
That caught people like Sanea Gainous off guard as Elmo held a one liter bottle of Coke Cola in one hand with the other hand holding a glass jar containing the 27 teaspoons of sugar the soft drink contained.
Similar levels of sugar are also found in what some people might consider healthier alternatives, Elmo said. Even a smaller bottle of orange juice can include nearly 12 teaspoons of sugar.
One display making its debut on Saturday was an interactive walk-though tour of the human colon provided by St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute.
Geared more for adults, the display illustrated the progression of colon cancer with an emphasis of what doctors are looking for when the diagnose the disease.
Melanie Gonzales, a health educator with the Boise-based hospital recommended that people have regularly scheduled colonoscopies once they are 50 years old. She urged earlier testing for those with a family history of the disease.