San Benito Health Foundation hosts open house in SJB
As part of the second annual Binational Health Week, the San
Benito Health Foundation hosted an open house and immunization
clinic at its San Juan Bautista location.
Rosa Vivian Fernandez, the president and CEO of the Health
Foundation, explained that Binational Health Week is a
collaborative event hosted in the United States as well as other
countries such as Mexico, El Salvador and Ecuador to promote health
among migrant workers.
San Benito Health Foundation hosts open house in SJB
As part of the second annual Binational Health Week, the San Benito Health Foundation hosted an open house and immunization clinic at its San Juan Bautista location.
Rosa Vivian Fernandez, the president and CEO of the Health Foundation, explained that Binational Health Week is a collaborative event hosted in the United States as well as other countries such as Mexico, El Salvador and Ecuador to promote health among migrant workers.
The Oct. 14 event featured brief addresses by staff members who oversee different services at the Health Foundation as well as Maggie Bilich, the vice mayor of San Juan Bautista, and Anthony Botelho, the supervisor of San Benito County District 2.
“Sometimes San Juan is just left out of a lot of important things,” Botelho said, at the event. “It fills a need for health services. Being a part (of San Juan) shows their dedication to good health. It’s absolutely essential for a small town.”
Health was a focus at the event, which offered healthy snacks donated by Earthbound Farm and Casa de Fruta such as baby carrots, raisins, oranges and bananas as well as bottled water.
“Sometimes these foods are not as available,” Fernandez said. “They see a snack shop or go through a drive thru. Earthbound Farms (produce) is packaged in little bags, but if people can’t afford it” they can buy larger quantities and divide it up themselves.
During the event, the staff members offered body mass index screenings as well as information on how being overweight or obese can put people at risk for illnesses such as diabetes.
In another effort to promote health, dietician Nina Ghamrawi led the kids who visited in a dance routine from a video that is part of the “Lift Up Campaign.”
“They are 10-minute clips,” Fernandez said, of the video that featured people doing different movements while listening to African drums. “The children learned it right away. We want to get them to lift off their chairs.”
Ghamrawi led the kids through marching, hip swivels and lunges, as some of the staff members joined in. From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., she led a dance class every 20 minutes.
“That is one way,” Ghamrawi said, of the video getting kids to be active. “It’s about encouraging kids to do things that bring up their energy anyway – jumping rope, hide and seek. Kids naturally want to be active. It’s just about giving them physical activities.”
Also at the event, staff gave out influenza vaccines and Tdap, the vaccination for whooping cough. At the mid-point of the event, they had immunized 20 people.
While guests came in, the staff also talked with them about the Women, Infant and Children, program, enrolling any pregnant women or those with children under 5 who qualified.
“If they qualify for WIC, we will enroll them,” said Margaret Ornelas, the WIC program manager.
The staff members see 18 to 20 women a month at the Health Foundation’s San Juan office. Clients can go to the Hollister office, but they meet with WIC clients in San Juan on the third Wednesday of the month.
“We would like to see more clients,” she said, adding that the San Juan hours allow them to meet the needs of clients who might not have transportation to Hollister.
Bilich and Botelho both expressed their support of the Foundations efforts.
“The community is grateful they made the effort,” Botelho said. “I am looking forward to seeing them continue to grow.”
