NEWSPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — During National Hispanic Heritage Month several Seventh-Day Adventist churches participated in the annual Tidewater Adventist Community Health Fair.
“We love it. The blessing is not only to the community, but to us, because we love giving. We are blessed. The best thing we could do is to follow the biblical example, to share what you have. We are blessed ourselves,” said Dr. Elias Llerandi, an organizer of the Tidewater Adventist Community Health Fair.
Oct. 5 and 6, several volunteers offered free health checkups including vision exams, dental screenings, A1C and blood pressure tests.
“We are focusing in providing access to care, year-round care, not just a once-a-year event. We have been focusing on partnering with community organizations that cater to the unemployed, uninsured and underinsured, as well as those with a language barrier, as a limitation,” said Llerandi. “Not only are we focusing on diagnosing but providing the way to treat that on a regular basis.”
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The Virginia Peninsula Foodbank partners bi-weekly with the Peninsula Seventh Day Adventist Church. On Saturday, the foodbank delivered a trailer loaded with over 120 boxes of food.
“We have a food bank program here every other week where we service approximately 120-150 people drive through style and it is complete. Not only do they have prepackaged meals, but they have fresh produce,” said Llerandi.
The health and resource fair is open to everyone — no one asks questions about the persons immigration status.
“All the organizations that we have gathered here today cater to those people that have that as one of the reasons by which they are, in the dark in terms of health care,” explained Llerandi.
This year, there are two parts with Sentara Healthcare screenings and vison screenings with Sight Forever.
There is also an emphasis on health education.
“We set up a booth format called New Start, where we talk about nutrition, exercise, water, rest and all the things that give people a total health,” said Dr. Joseph Thomas, Tidewater Adventist Community.
Thomas adds, “We want to make sure people are physically healthy, [and] mentally healthy. I think there’s a huge role into how they feel, how they can interact with their family members. When you feel better, you actually can do things more and you have a longer lifespan and you can go out and be a better impact in the community at large.”
The volunteers hope to address breast cancer diagnoses disparities with the Latino Community.
“That number, that statistic, unfortunately, it goes up significantly among Latinos. One of the reasons is because of limited access to care. Therefore, that results in a late diagnosis which compromises a positive treatment outcome. The same thing goes with diabetes,” said Llerandi.
Thomas is planning another health fair, including another in Hickory, Virginia in November.
“Our goal is to get people to learn about their health so they can be healthy at home, actually to have less doctor’s visits,” said Thomas. “Once people start feeling better and start taking control over their own health. That, to me, actually helps the community the most because then they’re not relying on the medical system. They actually know how to take care of things themselves.
Locally, there is another Tidewater Adventist Community Health Fair in the planning phase for May in Norfolk.
Look for more information in our weekly Spanish newscast En Punto.