Intermountain Health will host four Heart Health Fairs on Friday, Feb. 6 across Colorado to kick off National Heart Month, reminding the community that good heart health can be a team sport.

The events in Denver, Grand Junction, Lafayette and Wheat Ridge, will give community members education and tools to help them improve heart health.

Abbie Donaldson, RN, is the chest pain coordinator at Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital and spent several years working in the cardiac intensive care unit and cardiac cath lab. She said knowing that individuals can make a difference in heart health has inspired her work.   

“With risk factor modification and educating the community on heart attack care and CPR, we can come together, and we can take actionable measures to help people save lives,” she said.  

At the health fair, people can practice hands-only CPR. Donaldson said accurate, aggressive CPR started on someone who has suffered a cardiac event outside the hospital increases that person’s chance of survival by 85-90%. They also can see a demonstration of an automated external defibrillator (AED) that can be lifesaving when used with someone who has lethal heart arrythmia.   

“The best thing to do when someone suffers from a cardiac event is to start CPR, call for help and have someone go find an AED nearby,” Donaldson said.   

Other topics covered at the health fairs will include:  

• Smoking cessation
• Symptoms of heart attack or stroke
• Stroke education and prevention
• Heart-healthy exercise
• Mindfulness and stress reduction
• Blood pressure screening
• Hands-only CPR and AED demonstrations
• Nutrition and healthy snacks
• American Heart Association information and more. 

Health fairs will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6 at Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital, 200 Exempla Circle, Lafayette; Lutheran Hospital, 12911 W. 40th Ave., Wheat Ridge; and Saint Joseph Hospital, 1375 E. 19th Ave., Denver. In Grand Junction at Intermountain Health St. Mary's Regional Hospital, 2635 N. 7th St., the event is 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 6.

Organizers encourage everyone to Wear Red for the day to celebrate the kickoff of National Heart Month.

Note: If members of the media want to attend, please contact Sara Quale, sara.quale@imail.org or call 970-310-3749, to coordinate.    

In an effort to bring more health resources to both the Spanish and English-speaking residents in the Clifton area, Intermountain St. Mary’s Hospital is hosting its first Bilingual Health Fair on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 8 am to 12 pm in cooperation with Mesa County Public Health and the Roice-Hurst Humane Society. 

The event is free and will be held at the county’s Clifton Community Campus, 3270 D½ Road, Clifton, CO. 

People will have a chance to meet and talk with primary care providers in English and Spanish. Free blood pressure checks will be available, and women can schedule a mammogram for a future date at St. Mary’s Hospital. The Roice-Hurst Humane Society will provide free dog and cat vaccines. 

“As we looked into the details of the community health needs assessment for Mesa County, we saw a need to bring more awareness of various health resources to the residents in Clifton,” said Victoria Grasmick, Intermountain Health’s director of community health for Western Colorado. 

“This led to building collaborative relationships with many diverse community-based organizations so that together we can help address the factors that can affect people’s health early on, before their health conditions progress into chronic disease that impacts their quality of life,” she added. 

There will be information booths with free resources in Spanish and English about where and how to access care, migrant education, food resources, affordable housing, resources for suicide prevention and helmet safety demonstrations. 

Other community partners participating include: Marillac Health, Clifton Christian Church Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity of Mesa County, Colorado National Monument, Hilltop’s Family Resource Center, Western Slope Center for Children, Migrant Education Program, HopeWest PACE Program, Food Bank of the Rockies, and Western Colorado Area Health Education Center. 

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WHAT:

Intermountain’s Cedar City Hospital will be holding the annual Family Health Fair and Flu Shoot Out this Saturday, 28, from 9 a.m. to Noon. The fall health fair is held in partnership with the Southwest Public Health Department that gives the community the chance for health resources and activities.

The event is held in Cedar City Hospital’s main entrance concourse and has dozens of booths with activities for the whole family, mental health resources, important health information, and free health screenngs.

The Southwest Public Health Department will once again be joining to hold the Flu Shoot Out. They will be able to administer low or no-cost flu shots. October is typically when influenza rates start to increase and the new immunizations become readily available, setting this health fair as the perfect time to get immunized for the flu season. The community can plan ahead and save time by visiting SWUhealth.org/flu for more information on the flu shot and to prefill out consent forms.

Entry into the Annual Health Fair is FREE.

For more information call (435) 868-5000.

WHEN:

9 am-Noon, MT, Saturday, September 28, 2024

WHERE: 

Cedar City Hospital, 1303 N. Main Street, Cedar City.

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