It’s National Community Health Center Week, and SIU Center for Family Medicine is holding a family fun health fair. Take a break from the fair and come visit us; the public is welcome to attend!
Date: Wednesday, August 13
Time: 3-5:30 pm
Location: East of the clinic on the corner of Carpenter and Fifth Streets in Springfield
The event will feature free activities, including games for kids, door prizes, snacks and water.
Various booths will provide information about health insurance, healthy lifestyles, and various diseases and conditions. Other social service agencies will be at the fair to educate community members about their services. Screenings for blood pressure, diabetes and BMI will be offered.
About Community Health Centers
Community health centers have been in existence throughout the US for more than 45 years and serve 22 million people nationwide. They are increasingly becoming the trusted provider of choice for many families, whether they are insured or not.
“Health Center Week is a great opportunity for us to make our community aware of the importance of primary health care for everyone,” said family medicine physician Dr. Janet Albers. “When people have a place to go for regular care, they use it and stay healthier. We are here to serve anyone in need of a medical home.”
Evidence shows that patients choose health centers because they are convenient, affordable and offer a range of services from a team of caring professionals. They have demonstrated success by:
•    Reducing income and ethnic health disparities nationwide, even in the poorest and most challenged neighborhoods
•    Reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and unnecessary visits to the emergency room
•    Generating a system of preventative medicine that patients use regularly to stay healthy, thus saving lives
•    Producing $24 billion in annual health system savings nationwide

-rb