NorthShore Health Centers Celebrate Third Annual Health and Resource Fair at US Steel Yard Stadium – Home of the Gary SouthShore Railcats

NorthShore Health Centers Celebrate Third Annual Health and Resource Fair at US Steel Yard Stadium – Home of the Gary SouthShore Railcats

The Gary SouthShore Railcats hosted the Sioux City Explorers for an exciting afternoon of baseball, joined by some of the health team from NorthShore Health Centers, as they presented their third annual Health and Resource Fair, to coincide with the kickoff of National Mens’ Health Week.

Gervay Dickerson, Lead Event Coordinator/Lead Outreach Coordinator for NorthShore Health Centers was very happy to once again be heading up the annual event.

“We are going into National Mens’ Health Week,” said Dickerson. ”To celebrate, men can come into any NorthShore location this week and receive discounts on medical care and services which they might not be able to otherwise afford. We wanted to come out here today to offer screenings for blood pressure, dental, blood glucose and other health issues. We have a head start and a family resource service, from Geminus Services. We have chiropractic services with free chair massages available here today. We’re very happy to be able to be here to offer these services to men from around the area. It’s a way for us to reach out to the community.”

The event was made possible through the generous sponsorship and cooperation of both NorthShore and several community partners, including Anthem, Geminus Corporation Prevention Services Department, TrueVine Baptist Church Youth Ministry, Geminus Head Start, MHS, Accord Chiropractic, AccessAbilities Inc, RCS Home Health, Family Compass, Kauffman Chiropractic, Community Partners and Tobacco Education & Prevention.

We were able to catch up with Dr. Tom Redfield, Chief operating Officer of Accord Chiropractic in between visitors checking out the Accord table at the fair.

“One of the biggest problems with health is prevention,” said Dr. Redfield. “We’re pleased to be here again with North Shore. We are here to make people aware, to get them to take that first step to being aware of their health problems, and to encourage them to take action to correct those problems before they get worse. This is a cooperation that could not have been possible just a few years ago.”

Brian Lyter, General Manager of the Gary Railcats is very happy to host the event.

“This is a terrific opportunity. This is our third Health Fair here at the stadium. We typically schedule this event on our first Sunday home game in May. This is a terrific opportunity – it is just one more positive family event that we are very happy to be able to bring here to the city,” said Redfield.

In addition to health screenings, there were raffles and giveaways, with several of the partners offering goodies that ran the gamut from antiseptic wipes to pens, hand sanitizer to keychains and more.

Richard McClelland, an officer with the Gary Police Department stopped by the NorthShore table at the health event.

“I’m all for these health screenings,’ said McClelland. “I think it’s very important for these services to come out events like these. A lot of people are either too busy or too proud to make time to go into the clinic to get checked out when they feel something is wrong. This gets people thinking more about their health, which is a very good thing.”

McClelland is a huge fan of the folks from NorthShore.

“They’re very friendly,” he said. “Just real good people.”

Ryan Singh, Program Coordinator for the Tobacco Education & Prevention Coalition was enjoying the event.

“We had a lot of people come by to talk with us,” said Singh. “Prevention really is key. If we can get more people to become aware of the dangers of smoking, we can prevent so many health issues. We’re glad to be here, and we will also be hosting our Partner Recognition Event, coming up June 30th at Zao Island in Valparaiso, and we’re really looking forward to that, as well.”

Dozens of visitors to the stadium stopped by the health fair to take advantage of the many services offered, as the Railcats fought the good fight against the visitors from Sioux City. Tied 3-3 at the bottom of the 9th, the game went into extra innings, with the ‘Cats finally besting the Explorers, 5-3.

As the fans celebrated another home team victory, we caught back up with Gervay Dickerson, who was helping her team pack up their tables.

“These events are great. It’s a way to get out here, meet some people and let them know that we’re here to help take care of them,” said Dickerson.

If you’d like to stop by North Shore to take advantage of their special prices to celebrate Mens’ Health Week, you might be surprised at just how easy that is to do. With locations in Portage, Lake Station, Merrillville, Hammond and Chesterton they’ve got you covered. They even have discount on-site pharmacies to serve you. NorthShore accepts Medicare, HIP, Medicaid, and commercial insurance and also have a discounted self-pay option for those will little or no insurance, and provide services for all family members, including quality medical, dental and eye care without regard to ability to pay.

Be sure to visit your nearby NorthShore Health Center this week, June 13th – 17th. NorthShore is offering discounted physicals and screenings for men in honor of Father’s Day. Schedule your appointment today and be entered into a raffle for a $100 Amazon gift card. Visit their website at northshorehealth.org or stop by their health fair today located along the concourse for more information!