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Health Fair Worthy Of A Celebration

Tribune photo by JOHN CEBALLOS

Gabriela Sauza, left, conducts a glucose test during the first Your Independence From Diabetes and HIV event at the Beth-El Farmworkers Ministry. The health fair featured free diabetes and oral HIV examinations and coincided with Mexican Independence Day.

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By JOHN CEBALLOS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2008

Updated:

WIMAUMA - The Beth-El Farmworker Ministry gave its visitors an unconventional way of celebrating Mexican Independence Day.

On Sept. 16, the mission hosted the first Your Independence from Diabetes and HIV event.

"We organize health fairs across the county, but this is the first time we've done it on this occasion," said Ana Sanchez, health promoter for the Florida Institute for Community Studies. "We're sort of encouraging people to get independence from diabetes and illness in general."

More than 100 people took advantage of the free diabetes, cholesterol and oral HIV examinations.

The event was organized by the institute in collaboration with Beth-El, the Redlands Christian Migrant Association and Suncoast Community Health Centers.

"We invited patients we've worked with before and who we know are diabetic or have family members that are diabetic," Sanchez said.

Sanchez also recruited people for the health fair at Wimauma's Independence Day Festival Sept. 14.

"I've known I've had diabetes for years and I've been taking pills, but my wife has never been tested before today," said Sirnio Valdez, who attended the event with his wife, Ernestina, of 50 years.

"My mother and my father have diabetes, and I'm getting tested for the first time today," said Olga Herrera of Wimauma.

On top of the free examinations, visitors were given low-sugar food and drink options. They also had the opportunity to win prizes if they answered diet-related questions correctly.

"Hispanics, particularly Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, are almost twice as likely to get diabetes as non-Hispanic whites," said Alayne Unterberger, the institute's executive director, citing 2006 statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Event organizers acknowledge much of the Hispanic population in the area does not always take a proactive approach to health care.

"A lot of people don't get tested because they don't have insurance and can't afford to," Sanchez said. "Today's event is offering free testing because getting tested is the first step toward being healthy."

Reporter John Ceballos can be reached at (813) 865-1555 or jceballos@tampatrib.com.

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