Giving Back

Free Health Fair October 13

Dan Hawkins (L) and Richard Merritt (R) present a check for $7,500 to Dr. Basim Khan, the Executive Director of Neighborhood Health, in support of the Free Health Fair for Alexandria’s Uninsured that will take place on Saturday, October 13, 2018. Merritt and Hawkins are co-directors of the non-profit Alexandria Cares for the Uninsured, which they created four years ago to raise funds for an annual free health fair for the uninsured in the City of Alexandria. Courtesy photo.

On Saturday, October 13, there will be the fourth annual Free Health Fair at the Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center (formerly the Cora Kelly Recreation Center) located at 25 West Reed Avenue at the corner with Commonwealth Ave.

The fair is sponsored by Neighborhood Health, a community health center serving the health care needs of more than 20,000 mostly low-income, uninsured individuals in the City of Alexandria, Arlington County and Fairfax County.

More than 300 residents are expected to attend this year’s health fair. Attendees will receive a broad array of free diagnostic and preventive services, for example: vision and eye exams, glucose tests, blood pressure checks, dental screenings, and HIV tests, to help them better understand their current health status. Those who present with elevated or troubling symptoms or conditions will be referred to a medical or dental provider at Neighborhood Health for follow-up.

The fair will be staffed by more than 50 medical and non-medical volunteers.

Outreach and enrollment navigators will be present to assist individuals with applying for insurance under the Affordable Care Act. For the first time this year, many attendees will be able to determine their eligibility for the newly-expanded Medicaid program for adults that the Virginia General Assembly authorized earlier this year. Those who don’t qualify for Medicaid may still be eligible for subsidies to purchase a health insurance plan through the ACA’s federally-run insurance marketplace.

Many non-profit community health and social service providers will be on hand to provide attendees with information on how they may access other important services in the community.

For more information, please contact: Eduardo Mantilla-Torres at [email protected]. Volunteers are needed to help set up the fair on Friday evening, and to run the fair on Saturday. Please commit to contact Volunteer Alexandria at: http://bit.ly/NHhealthfair2018

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