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Health officials with a mind to keep young bodies healthy and active are organizing the Wednesday Miners Care Fair.
From 2-4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Miners Family Health Center in Grass Valley, the fair will offer parents a chance to immunize their children, play games and receive information on pediatric health.
The event is scheduled to bring a number of local health organizations under one roof – Miners, the NEO Drug Free Youth Coalition, Live Healthy Nevada County and naturopathic practitioners.
“As a community health center we've got an obligation for outreach to these community partners,” said Scott McFarland, CEO of Miners. The event should become an annual affair, McFarland said.
The clinic is primarily geared toward getting immunizations to pediatric patients, a group with a notoriously low immunization rate in the Nevada County.
“We have a lot of parents who decline to immunize because of concerns a vaccine could do more harm than good,” said Sherry Dunn, a nurse with the Nevada County Public Health Department. A county immunizations grant is partially funding the fair.
Some of those concerns can be based on faulty information, said Dr. Heather Lucas-Ross of Miners.
“There's not a lot of research to back up some of those claims,” Lucas-Ross said. “As a result of unvaccinated children, we're seeing a rise in diseases that really shouldn't be a problem,” like whooping cough and chicken pox, Lucas-Ross said.
Nurses will be on-hand to administer a number of childhood immunizations to current Miners patients, Lucas-Ross said.
Children sporting a band-aid after an immunization shouldn't also sport a frown Wednesday. A bounce house and bike giveaway sponsored by the Alliance for People Powered Transportation are scheduled to be at the clinic to lift spirits.
Adults are eligible for free health screenings, including blood pressure readings and diabetes screenings.
The event is scheduled to take place in the Miners parking lot at 1345 Whispering Pines Lane in Grass Valley. For information, call (530) 205-7698.
Contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin at kmagin@theunion.com or (530) 477-4239.
From 2-4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Miners Family Health Center in Grass Valley, the fair will offer parents a chance to immunize their children, play games and receive information on pediatric health.
The event is scheduled to bring a number of local health organizations under one roof – Miners, the NEO Drug Free Youth Coalition, Live Healthy Nevada County and naturopathic practitioners.
“As a community health center we've got an obligation for outreach to these community partners,” said Scott McFarland, CEO of Miners. The event should become an annual affair, McFarland said.
The clinic is primarily geared toward getting immunizations to pediatric patients, a group with a notoriously low immunization rate in the Nevada County.
“We have a lot of parents who decline to immunize because of concerns a vaccine could do more harm than good,” said Sherry Dunn, a nurse with the Nevada County Public Health Department. A county immunizations grant is partially funding the fair.
Some of those concerns can be based on faulty information, said Dr. Heather Lucas-Ross of Miners.
“There's not a lot of research to back up some of those claims,” Lucas-Ross said. “As a result of unvaccinated children, we're seeing a rise in diseases that really shouldn't be a problem,” like whooping cough and chicken pox, Lucas-Ross said.
Nurses will be on-hand to administer a number of childhood immunizations to current Miners patients, Lucas-Ross said.
Children sporting a band-aid after an immunization shouldn't also sport a frown Wednesday. A bounce house and bike giveaway sponsored by the Alliance for People Powered Transportation are scheduled to be at the clinic to lift spirits.
Adults are eligible for free health screenings, including blood pressure readings and diabetes screenings.
The event is scheduled to take place in the Miners parking lot at 1345 Whispering Pines Lane in Grass Valley. For information, call (530) 205-7698.
Contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin at kmagin@theunion.com or (530) 477-4239.
