Event features services such as flu shots, hearing and skin checks
Stephen Finn
The Sun
Burlington Township residents came out to take advantage of the wide variety of services and information available during the annual Mayor’s Health and Wellness Fair held at the township municipal building on Saturday, Oct. 20.
Mayor Brian Carlin was present and made sure to stop by Burlington County Health Department’s mobile clinic for a flu shot. According to Carlin, the event is helpful for locals who may have a hard time working regular health checks for their family into their schedules.
“We’re all so busy, we’re a diverse economic town so we’ve got families who are working two jobs, we’ve got parents who are working in New York or Philadelphia, where they’re traveling an hour and a half a day,” said Carlin. “This is an opportunity to just come out and bring the family. You can get a screen to get a feel for what’s going on, and hopefully everybody is fine, but if you have something we catch it early.”
One of the first stations visitors saw when they arrived was the Burlington County Sheriff’s Department Child Safety Team which was offering free child safety seat checks in the parking lot outside the municipal building.
Team member Diana Rodriguez explained how many parents unknowingly install their safety seats incorrectly or just have the wrong size for their child.
“Most of the time it’s a tightness issue. We check to make sure the child is within the recommended height and weight limits for the seat and that the seat is properly in the car,” said Rodriguez. “We want to make sure that if they are in an accident we’re lowering their chance of injury.”
Parked directly outside the entrance of the building, representatives from the Burlington County Health Department had a mobile clinic available to the public for free flu shots and HIV testing.
Senior Field Representative Gordon McConville stressed the importance of getting out ahead of the flu each season.
“When it comes to the flu you can never be too careful. People don’t realize that it can be deadly and it can be a very serious infection it’s a lot more than just 48 hours of not feeling so good. The real flu usually puts people down for a solid week.”
Inside the municipal building tables were set up offering a number of services from hearing checks, to skin and blood pressure checks.
Along with Carlin, Dr. Annette Minors has organized the health and wellness fair for the last eight years. Leading up to the first of these events, the mayor was looking to do something to promote health and wellness in Burlington Township and Minors was in the market for a new project.
“It was a happy meeting,” said Minors.
Kimberly Mattson is a health educator with the Burlington County Health Department. Along with providing information about various programs offered by the health department, her table offered a free dermatological check.
“This is to remind people to go to the dermatologist. We have a DermaScan machine that looks for skin damage on your face. We’re trying to remind people to wear sunscreen even in the winter,” said Mattson.
Despite all the services available to the public, it can be difficult actually making people aware of these services, which was the driving force behind the planning of the fair.
“It’s hard to get the township out, so we want them to learn that there are things you can do to help your health,” said Minors.
