Happy, healthy and wise

Eat a healthy snack, take a 20-minute fitness class, get your blood pressure checked and enjoy a massage.

Those a few of things you can do at the Community Health Fair to be held between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. this Saturday at the Grand Center.

The Moab Regional Hospital, and the Allen Memorial Hospital before it, has been providing the health fair for nine years. Hospital departments will provide the backbone of the fair. However a variety of practitioners and vendors from the community will offer a range of healthy options.

Some are informational based. Some are interactive.

“People can wander around at their own speed,” said Jen Sadoff, marketing director at Moab Regional Hospital.

Keven Lange, who has been organizing the health fair for the last nine years, said that several hospital departments will be represented, such as radiology, obstetrics, infection control and hospice. From there, Lange has recruited health professionals from the community and around the state.

“We have a good range of services represented. It is the whole gamut in Moab. And this is just a sampling,” Lange said. “At least one dentist will be there. And our plastic surgeon that visits here in Moab will have a booth.”

Local care givers have been invited, including naturopath Don Leathers and bodywork specialist Catherine Shank from Phoenix Rising Center.

“We’ve tried to make it a mix of traditional and alternative medicine,” Sadoff said.

Representatives from local Veteran’s Administration office will also be there.

“They love to have veterans come and visit with them about the services they have here in town now,” Lange said.

For those wanting to improve their diet, Moonflower Market will have a booth.

“They talk to people about diet and provide samples,” Lange said. “They show what you can buy at a whole foods market.”

About 400 people attending the fair will be getting the results from blood draws taken in January and earlier this month.

“It’s intended to be a tool to use with a physician,” Sadoff said. “We encourage people to take it with them to their next physical.”

Moab Regional Hospital offered the blood tests for $60, a huge discount from the normal charge of $400.

“There are a lot of people who wouldn’t have if it wasn’t offered at a discounted rate,” Sadoff said. “There are a lot of people who wait for this yearly opportunity.”

Sadoff recommends that you wear comfortable clothing, because there will be 20-minute fitness classes taught by local instructors throughout the fair.

“It’s a little something new this year,” Sadoff said. “There will be yoga, pilates, powerball. Elizabeth Lamoureux will be teaching Yamuna bodyrolling.”

Terry Lewis from the Moab Recreation and Aquatic Center will be teaching a stability ball class that is intended to strengthen the body’s core, the muscles and connective tissues that support the spine and pelvic region.

Mountain Land Physical Therapy has had a booth at the fair since it began.

This year they will do body fat testing and balance screening.

“It’s amazing how many people have falls. We can test to see if you’re at risk for falls, to know whether you should see a doctor or physical therapist to prevent falls,” said physical therapist Jim Lewis. “A lot of people don’t know it, but you can treat vertigo with different movements and procedures with a physical therapist.”

Author: Kristin Millis

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