RVNA’s 43rd Annual Health & Wellness Fair To Be Held Saturday, April 1
“The First Wealth is Health,” penned Ralph Waldo Emerson years ago, recognizing that good health is our best investment and is essential to all of us. What better way to check in on your health than by attending RVNA’s 43rd annual Health & Wellness Fair on Saturday, April 1 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at East Ridge Middle School, 10 East Ridge Road, in downtown Ridgefield.
With over 100 exhibitors ready to share their valuable health information, this is an event to add to your Saturday to-do list. From dentists to physicians to integrative health specialists, you’re sure to have your questions answered. Free memory, vision and glaucoma, hearing, skin, and oral screenings will be available; as well as nerve scans, foot exams and bone density testing. Try out a chair massage and then learn about the importance of therapy dogs. The Ridgefield Fire Department will be offering hands-only CPR training to all interested attendees. They will also provide information on health related resources, safety awareness and emergency preparedness. All tests, screenings, and services are free and no appointments are needed.
In addition to the exhibitors, RVNA provides many free health screenings, too. “Our dedicated RVNA nursing staff will be there volunteering their time to provide free cholesterol, anemia, and blood glucose screenings. They also provide detailed results that people can take with them,” said RVNA President and CEO Theresa Santoro, MSN, RN, CHCA.
Rehab by RVNA, RVNA’s new out-patient rehabilitation center, will provide balance assessments. “This is also a great opportunity to stop in and learn about Rehab by RVNA, which offers physical, occupational, and speech therapy services on an outpatient basis,” said Gigi Weiss, RVNA Director of Rehabilitation Services.
HomeCare by RVNA, which offers non-medical home care such as live-ins and hourly home health aides, will have a table with information on how to recognize when your loved one needs help at home, how to choose a caregiver and how to keep loved ones safe. “This is one of the most important and yet confusing issues families face. The different types of non-medical agencies allowed in Connecticut and the varying levels of regulation – or lack thereof – can make these decisions very stressful,” said Heather McGhie, Director of HomeCare by RVNA. “My staff and I will be available at the Health Fair to answer these questions and more.”
Community service organizations such as the Connecticut Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Meals on Wheels of Ridgefield, BLAST Lyme Prevention, Women’s Center of Greater Danbury, American Parkinson Disease Association, Out of the Crate, ROAR and senior living communities will also be on hand to provide information and answer questions.
If you have a piece of used medical equipment such as walkers, canes, shower benches or wheelchairs that are gathering dust, it can be donated at the Health Fair to The N.E.A.T. Center at Oak Hill, a non-profit organization that cleans and restores gently used equipment and resells it to people with limited or no medical insurance.
RVNA will accept donations to its food pantry at the Health Fair. Attendees are encouraged to bring healthy non-perishable food items (low sodium, low fat, whole grain, or low in sugar) that will be dispersed to RVNA patients that are homebound or otherwise unable to go to grocery stores or traditional food pantries.
Admission to the Health Fair and all screenings, all services, and all information are free. East Ridge Middle School has ample parking.
“We are fortunate to have so many dedicated exhibitors who have joined together again this year to make this truly a community-wide effort,” Newland explains. “This will enable us all to begin building our own wealth of health.”
The 43rd Annual RVNA Health & Wellness Fair is sponsored by Benchmark Senior Living (Ridgefield Crossings & The Village at Brookfield Common); Bethel Health Care Center and Cascades Assisted Living; Caraluzzi’s Market; Danbury Orthopedics; The Goldstone Family Foundation; Hancock Hall/Filosa for Nursing & Rehab; Impulse Printing; Laurel Ridge Health Care Center; Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce Health & Wellness Council; Stop & Shop; Traditions Senior Management; The Greens at Cannondale & Wilton Meadows; and Western Connecticut Medical Group.
About RVNA
Founded in 1914, RVNA is an accredited non-profit Medicare-certified home healthcare agency that also supports public health and safety, and promotes the highest quality of life. RVNA provides compassionate care to all individuals, whether young or old, through a continuum of care that encompasses health care at home and in the community. RVNA also provides home health aides and companionship through a non-medical subsidiary called HomeCare by RVNA and outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy in its Rehab by RVNA facility at 27 Governor Street, Ridgefield.