The Louisiana Healthy Communities Coalition will host its second annual Healthy Fest. The festival will take place at the City of Hammond Recreation Center from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 14. The Center is located at 601 West Coleman Avenue and can offer something to all who attend. 

The choirs of four local churches will be present to entertain the crowds. Stores from the Hammond area will also display a showcase of many healthy foods. Free examinations for oral cancer, HIV, diabetes and breast cancer will all be provided. In addition to these screenings, take-home kits to check for colorectal cancer will also be available and attendees can have their Body Mass Index assessed. Along with a multitude of medical services, attendees will learn about physical health at the many health education tables. Most of the services are given by medical professionals and are free, but appointments are required to receive breast cancer screenings, which can be made by calling 888-616-4687. Despite the requirement of an appointment, the screenings are free like other festival provisions. 

“All screenings are free,” said Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center representative Charity Gay. “Mammograms are for women over 40 and will be billed to insurance if the participant has insurance, otherwise we will take care of the costs. Clinical breast exams are completely free for anyone under 40.”

Many other exhibitors are also attending Healthy Fest.

“We have 30 exhibitors who will offer education on health topics and resources, HIV screenings, oral cancer screenings, breast cancer screenings, colon cancer screenings, blood pressure, glucose screenings, vision screenings, BMI with nutritional education [and] stroke risk assessments,” said Gay. “Albertsons and Walmart will set up a healthy foods display with samples of healthy items found within the local stores, children activities and much more, all free to participants.”

However, this outreach is quite new, only beginning last year. 

“The Louisiana Healthy Communities Coalition decided to host a community and faith based collaborative event to provide access to medical screenings and education to improve the quality of life for our citizens and neighbors,” said Gay. “This event was intended to replace some of the smaller health fairs that are hosted by individual churches and partner with those churches to offer more resources to a larger audience.”

The event is open to the public, including university students, and both groups can benefit.  

“It’s a free opportunity to gain knowledge of existing resources in the community, health education and free screenings,” Gay said.

The Healthy Fest offers a rare opportunity to residents of Hammond. Free examinations and health education will be made available, information about conditions will be accessible to those diagnosed and local stores will try to nourish everyone with the healthy food they showcase. According to Gay, children will also be able to enjoy activities that will be provided by Louisiana Children’s Discovery Center and the Junior Auxiliary of Hammond.

All are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Gay at [email protected].