Medical School, Cancer Center co-host health fair

Free community wellness event Saturday, January 4 in Kaka`ako

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Kate Raastad, (808) 927-7742
MD Class of 2017, John A. Burns School of Medicine
Posted: Jan 3, 2014

Free screenings, information and fun at the annual health fair
Free screenings, information and fun at the annual health fair

Most people’s top New Year’s resolution is to start living healthy and the University of Hawai`i's John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and UH Cancer Center are ringing in 2014 with the 9th Annual Community Health Fair. The event, on Saturday, January 4, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Kaka`ako campus at 651 Ilalo Street, marks the first time the medical school and the newly-built Cancer Center have co-sponsored the fair to celebrate health and promote wellness. Admission is free.

The theme for the upcoming health fair is “I Ola No Ke Kino”, or “may your body thrive.” The MD student-organized event has drawn hundreds of visitors to the medical school in the past and even more are expected because this is the first time the fair will be held on a Saturday.

Two JABSOM medical students originally envisioned the event in 2004 to interact with the communities they intended to serve as physicians. Since then, the fair has become a reliable provider of information about various health resources available to Hawai`i residents.

Nearly 50 different groups will be participating in the upcoming health fair, from State of Hawai`i experts in insurance assistance, securities and health careers, to vendors including food trucks and producers of fresh vegetables.  There also will be activities you can take part in, including zumba and tai chi demonstrations, a hula performance by JABSOM students and music by Simply Sedd.

Those looking for free health screenings are in luck. Retina and eye exams, blood pressure and glucose checks will be offered along with booth after booth featuring health and wellness information. Are you in the mood for a lecture? “How to Lose Weight and Reduce the Need for Medications,” is a talk scheduled by Dr. Terry Shintani, author of “The Hawai`i Diet.” Dr. Shintani is a Professor in the JABSOM Department of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Visitors can also sign up for the Hawai`i Bone Marrow Donor Registry or donate the gift of life at the bloodmobile, operated by the Blood Bank of Hawai`i, which will be parked at the curb. Blood donors will receive a coupon for free cookies from the Cookie Corner and be entered to win a trip for two to Las Vegas.

“We look forward to celebrating a new year of healthy living with you,” said Kate Rastaad and Christine Lee, first-year MD students and fair publicity co-chairs. The students also offered a “mahalo” to health fair sponsors Blood Bank of Hawai`i and Islands Hospice.

For more information about the fair, see: www.facebook.com/UHHealthWellbeing                       

For additional information about the John A. Burns School of Medicine, contact: Communications Director Tina Shelton sheltont@hawaii.edu

For more information, visit: http://jabsom.hawaii.edu