Annual Early Signs Health Fair Coming to Hilo

The Eighteenth Annual Early Signs Health Fair will be held at the LIfe Care Center of Hilo on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Honorary Chair Dr. Kevin Kurohara and Life Care Center of Hilo Executive Director Mark Mann have been meeting in preparation for this free educational event.

Service providers, agencies and individual practitioners will be on-hand to provide free services.

Dr. Brian Sugai is providing free foot screens for the 16th year in a row.

Dr. Chris Igawa and Dr. Patsy Fujimoto are providing free oral screens.

Dr. Dean Guida and Dr. Daniel Young will be providing free chiropractic screens.

KTA will provide bone density checks.

Hui Malama Ola Na Oiwi along with Hawaii Community College Nursing Students will provide free blood sugar checks.

The University of Hawai‘i Nursing Program will provide blood pressure checks.

PharMerica and Longs Drugs will review medications for the participants.

Alzheimer’s Association, American Cancer Society, Arthritis Foundation, Services For Seniors, Big Island Nutrition Council, Overeaters Anonymous, Hawaii Island Adult Care and Legal Aid will be available with information booths.

Back by popular demand, Dr. Gary Johnson (in-house geriatric physician at Life Care Center of Hilo) will offer a “What’s Up Doc?” booth. A geriatrician is a physician who has completed a residency in either internal medicine or family medicine, with an additional one or two year fellowship training in the medical, social and psychological issues that concern older adults. Participants will be able to ask questions of Dr. Johnson, whose specialty is working with the older population.

Project Vision Hawaii is returning this year to provide free retinal screens.

Additional booths include, doTerra, Kyani, Hawaii County Office of Aging, Sleep Center, American Heart Association, Sage Plus, Hilo Hearing Aid, HIV Foundation, Direct Link, Hospice, Senior Medicare Patrol, Overeaters Anonymous, Longs Pharmacy, Aloha Aina, Wimsim Massage, Howard Rhinehart, Slade Slim, Alicia Cristobal, Legal Shield, United Health Care, Ohana Health, Eye Care Hawaii, Klein Natural Health and Wellness Center, Hilo Hearing Aid Center, HMSA and more.

Local physicians are providing presentations every half hour and will stay around for individual questions. At 9 a.m., Dr. Mary Nordling speaks on immunizations; at 9:30 a.m., Dr. William Herrera on Parkinsons; at 10 a.m. Dr. Rodney Ono on diabetes and medications; at 10:30 a.m., Dr. Joshua Pierce on “Surgery Questions;” at 11 a.m., Dr. Predeepta Chowdhury on cholesterol; at 11:30 a.m., Dr. Rolin Otomo on “The Aging Eye;” at noon, Dr. Kevin Kurohara on Alzheimer’s and dementia; at 12:30 p.m., Dr. Aaron Morita on arthritis; at 1 p.m., Dr. Gabriele Barthlen on sleep disorder; and at 1:30 p.m., Dr. Michael Fitch on hypertension.

Activity demonstrations will be every half-hour, including 9:15 a.m. hula, 9:45 a.m. energy in motion, 10:15 a.m. ballroom dancing, 10:45 a.m. rhythm and life, 11:15 a.m. zumba, 11:45 a.m. tai chi, 12:15 p.m. aikido, 12:45 p.m. belly dancing and 1:15 p.m. karate.

Last year’s participants wrote evaluations including these comments,

“I rate this health fair very excellent… staff excellent and polite with smiles.”

“Terrific. Thank you… I cannot believe all the great free services you offer!”

“Every year it just gets better and better.”

“It was so nice to be able to speak to a physician and get a good understanding about how to take care of my body.”

“I never knew how many different ways there were to exercise our body and how many classes are available.”

“The booth people were so helpful and full of information—I took flyers from each one and I am going to make a book of it.”

“The Life Care staff helped me find everything, checked my memory and my balance!”

For more information about this upcoming event or to schedule cholesterol or memory checks, call Life Care, Social Services, at 959-9151.