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The Lincoln Park District recently did a complete
facelift on the ballroom with new flooring, lighting, and paint,
making for a very sophisticated looking venue for the health fair.
The ballroom was lined on all four three of its four sides with
vendors and there were also several other vendors set up in the
middle of the room. Outside the Molina bus was parked and accepting
guests for health and wellness checks.
Inside there were tables set up by Lincoln Memorial
Hospital where blood pressure, cholesterol screening and a simple
balance test were made available to those who were interested in
knowing how they rate without visiting a local doctor.
Around the room there were a large number of state agencies who have
or offer specialized programs for senior citizens. In addition there
were a number of not for profit organizations on hand talking about
some of the services they provide for seniors.
There were a number of local businesses on hand
including insurance agencies, long term care facilities, and more.
The Lincoln Park District had a table set up as did the Logan County
Department of Public Health, the Logan County Veterans Assistance
Commission, and Logan County Clerks Office.
On the stage, tables were set up for Senator Turner
and Representative Hauter where drawings for door prizes were being
conducted every few minutes.
In between drawings, the Community Outreach Liaison
for the Office of the Attorney General, Heather Calcara spoke.
Chairs were set up in front of the stage for guests to sit while
hearing from Calcara. She spoke to the room about the Attorney
General’s office and her role. She then spoke about protecting
ourselves from fraud.
She said that text message scams are becoming increasingly popular
and warned listeners to be cautious in responding to text messages
from senders they don’t know.
She also spoke about the ever popular grandparent scam that is a
phone call scam. She said that someone will call and when the senior
citizen answers the phone the caller will say “grandma?” or grandpa.
She said it is our human nature to respond with the name of a
grandchild that could be calling, and that is all it takes.
The senior may say “johnny is that you?” and the caller will say yes
it is, that they don’t sound right because they were in a car
accident and broke their nose. Then the alleged grandchild will
explain that he or she is in big trouble and they don’t want their
parents to know. Calcara said they will give a horrific scenario
where they have been arrested and are being held for bond. They will
then say they need money to get out of jail and can the senior send
it to them.
Many seniors get taken advantage of in this manner. The best thing
to know is that it is probably a scam, and the senior should not
agree to do anything without checking out the so called grandchild’s
story further.
Tables around the room that were garnering interest
included a table for the visually impaired. The Educational Center
for the Visually Impaired out of Springfield had a table with
special glasses that would allow guests to see what it looks like to
have various eye diseases from cataracts to glaucoma to other
serious, vision altering afflictions. They also had on hand a wide
variety of tools that are designed to assist the visually impaired
in navigating every day life. From special magnifying glasses to
walking sticks and containers with distinct identifiable shapes, all
the tools are designed to help the visually impaired by teaching
them to use their other senses to make up for loss of sight.
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The Lincoln Memorial Hospital Auxiliary was on hand
with a table near the stage. Volunteer Linda McCuan was there
talking about volunteerism at the hospital and also talking about
the Life Line program that the auxiliary supports. She said that in
addition to the traditional Life Line pendants that many are
familiar with, the auxiliary now also has available Life Line
watches.
Kara Davis was on hand for the Logan County
Department of Public Health with free sharps disposal containers for
those who do home injections. The containers can be filled then
brought to the health department for proper disposal.
Davis was asked about Covid testing at the health
department. She said currently the LCDPH isn’t offering Covid
testing. However, with fall and winter coming, the federal
government is going to implement a free testing program soon. Davis
said that the LCDPH will offer testing while those supplies last.
She said announcements would be sent when the supplies are in house.
All around the room, at nearly every table there were
free gifts being given out. Visitors could pick up a free cloth tote
and fill it with everything from ink pens and note pads, to pizza
cutters, post it notes, snacks, and much more.
As guests made the rounds, when they had gone full
circle and were back at the entrance to the ballroom they could take
advantage of a breakfast/brunch style buffet that included savory
snacks and fresh veggies and fruit. A lovely buffet of sweets
including coffee cakes, Danish and a wide variety of cookies was
offered on the second table. Bottled water and coffee was also
available.
In all, the event was very well attended as senior came and went all
throughout the two hour period.
[Nila Smith]
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