Whether to enjoy a mini chair massage, sample healthy eats, or get free screenings, giveaways and information, this year’s Senior Health and Wellness Fair will be robust with vendors and activities for the public.
Whether to enjoy a mini chair massage, sample healthy eats, or get free screenings, giveaways and information, this year’s Senior Health and Wellness Fair will be robust with vendors and activities for the public.
Held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Geauga Family YMCA, 12460 Bass Lake Road in Munson Township, this year’s event includes 35 vendors offering health screenings, information, samples, freebies and goods for purchase, said Diane Gorom, active older adult coordinator for the Geauga YMCA.
“As the Geauga YMCA active older adult coordinator, I design programming to help older adults stay active and healthy. This health fair is the perfect way to help me do that,” Gorom said. “The wonderful thing about this event is that so many vendors — also dedicated to senior health and wellness — are doing health screenings, providing information on services, giving free samples and giveaways, and selling items.
“I love that we are able to connect so many seniors to different goods and services around the area all in one day and all in one place. Admission is free and is open to the public,” Gorom added, extending a thank you to Sage’s Apples for donating 300 apples to hand out, and to CCM Rental for donating 25 tables.
Vendors new to the scene include The Olive Scene, which will have samples of different olive oils and balsamic vinegars to try and will offer them for sale.
“They will also sell some gift sets for the upcoming holiday season,” Gorom said.
Mar-Lou Shoes will be bringing a handful of styles to showcase what they have available.
“They specialize in hard-to-fit sizes carrying very small and/or narrow shoes to very large and/or wide shoes,” Gorom said. “They also will explain the orthotics that they sell and how they can help you.”
Haas Healthcare Solutions will have information on navigating the Medicare maze of options and D’s B’s Honey will be selling raw honey, naturally flavored honey, lip balms and natural soaps, Gorom said.
“Mary Kay will be giving away ‘post-workout’ skincare samples and doing a raffle for a gift card and an anti-aging pampering session,” Gorom said, adding DoTerra Essential Oils will showcase their essential oils and have some to try out, and Habitat For Humanity will have information on their program that helps seniors stay in their home longer.
“Habitat helps with repairs, ramps, exterior and interior lighting, tub/shower replacements, etc.,” Gorom said.
Services for Independent Living will offer information on their organization, which secures services for the disabled in Lake and Geauga counties, she added.
“I think it’s wonderful to see so many vendors all showing or selling their products and offering information about their services,” said Penny Dougherty, 75, of Chardon.
Judy Fox, 78, of Newbury Township, added, “I loved the free mini massages last year. They were so nice.”
As in previous years, University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center is partnering with Geauga YMCA to host the event.
“This health fair is just one way to connect and provide resources, education and screenings for older adults,” said Amanda Rowan, a registered nurse at UHGMC. “It’s an event that should not be overlooked. UH Geauga will be providing glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure and bone density screenings, along with preventative risk screenings, and balance and grip screenings. UH clinical pharmacy specialists will also be available to answer questions about medication management, side effects and safe practices.”
Larry Scheps, 81, of Chardon, emphasized the importance of health screenings.
“It is always a good idea to get all the free health screenings done,” he said. “It is important to check those numbers.”
Barbara Collier, 90, of Chagrin Falls, said when she went to the health and wellness fair last year, she discovered Alert Care Medical Systems, a life-changer for her.
“I am a widow and live alone,” she said. “After speaking with the Alert Care person at the YMCA health fair, I learned about a watch that I could wear so I can alert someone if I need help. It’s so easy and I feel so much safer now. They are local and I wouldn’t have known about their company had I not attended the senior health fair at the Geauga YMCA.”
Returning vendors include:
- Chardon Integrated Wellness, which will be offering free mini chair massages;
- Heinens, of Chardon, which will be giving free samples of their “Good For You” superfood snacks and drinks;
- Second Sole,of Lyndhurst, which will be selling discounted popular athletic shoes offering great foot support for exercising, walking and running;
- The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, which will be collecting expired or no-longer-needed medications for disposal and also have info on the latest fraud/scams;
- Captel, which will demonstrate their captioned telephone that shows word-for-word captions of everything the caller says. It also displays captions of the messages on an answering machine;
- Chardon and Chesterland Family Eyecare, which will be providing information on state-of-the-art testing equipment and advanced treatments, as well as giving out free lens cloths and glasses cleaner.
Other vendors in attendance include: Alert Care Medical Systems, Sounds of Life Hearing Center, Your CBD Store, Salty, Ohio Walk-In Showers, Claudia Brown, Esq, Via Raes, Geauga Transit, Dr. Cherie Lechner-Lunato, Geauga Farm Bureau, Care Patrol, Geauga Park District, Avon, Clear Captions, Alzheimer’s Association, Geauga County Public Library, Geauga Department on Aging, United Way, Dennis Atkins-Independent Medicare Agent, Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging and CBD Tree.
