Local church to host L.B. community health fair

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The Christian Light Missionary Baptist Church will host the Long Beach Community Health Fair on Saturday, July 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 620 Rev. JJ Evans Blvd.

Organizers said that the event is an opportunity for community members to interact with local health professionals, obtain voluntary blood pressure, receive free cholesterol and vision screenings, and participate in exercise and healthy food demonstrations. Blood donors are sought for the event as well. According to the Nassau County News Network, County Executive Ed Mangano’s office will offer free senior and child identification cards.

Organizer Marcus Tinker, a community activist and a deacon-in-training, spoke about the importance of a community health fair for the Long Beach community.

“We’re hoping to make people more aware of their health,” Tinker said. “They need to know what the symptoms, possible treatments, possible repercussions of certain health issues are and this event will help provide people with the information they need to keep themselves healthy.”

Information regarding health issues such as heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, mental health, and substance abuse will be given out to people attending the event.

Participants in the health fair include NuHealth Family Health Centers, South Nassau Communities Hospital, Fidelis Care, WellCare, United Healthcare, Planned Parenthood, American Red Cross, Sisters United In Health, the Nassau County Department of Health and the Nassau County Department of Social Services, and others.

Some of the listed companies will be offering job opportunities at the health fair. Jobs include working with life insurance companies, sales jobs, hospital clinics, home nursing, nursing opportunities, and more.

Once a year, the church also partners with the city to host the Long Beach Community Job Fair, where more than 30 regional employers attend to give on-site interviews to people looking for work. This year, the health fair was incorporated.

“It all ties in to educating and empowering people,” Tinker said. “Whether it’s empowering people with raising awareness for health or helping people with their resume or job interviewing skills. After Hurricane Sandy, a lot of people got displaced, so we ended up starting the job fairs to get people back on their feet in the right way and now we’re looking to help the community with the health fair.”