9th Annual UCCA Health Fair

John Kump On Saturday, June 6, more than 1,200 residents of Astoria and surrounding areas visited the schoolyard of Most Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church at 32-23 36th St. and Broadway in Long Island City to participate in a community-wide health fair sponsored by the United Community Civic Association of Astoria (UCCA) and Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens.

The UCCA-Mount Sinai Queens Community Health Fair is an annual free event that is open to everyone in the community. In addition to providing a variety of health and wellness-related educational topics and activities, visitors could also measure their health through one of the many screenings available, such as weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, bone density and more.

There were also fun and games for the young and young at heart. From face painting and balloon sculptures to amazing magic shows and giveaways, there was something for everyone to enjoy. Giggles the magician was on hand to bring smiles to the many children who attended with their parents and grandparents. Face painting was provided free to everyone who attended as well.

Kids tumbled in the Dora the Explorer Adventure Bounce and music filled the air. Health fair attendees were fueled by the delicious food and drink also provided. Many visitors also stopped to create art and submit it for consideration in the Health Is… art contest and exhibition coming up at Mount Sinai Family Health Associates on June 22.

Every department at the Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens sponsored a booth and manned a registration table to give out free bags as visitors arrived, Rose Marie Poveromo, president of the United Community Civic Association, said. Many organizations, including the New York City Department of Corrections, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Man-Dell Key Foods, also sent volunteers to help make the program a success. As has been the case every year, Man-Dell Key Foods, in addition to sending volunteers to help make the program a success, donated many cases of fresh fruit.

State Senator George Onorato and his wife, Athena, stopped by to enjoy the festivities and speak to the community, emphasizing the need for more state funding to help build a new hospital for Mount Sinai Queens. Key community leaders and elected officials support this event each year including Assemblymember Michael Gianaris, Congressmember Carolyn Maloney and City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr.

Poveromo has been coordinating this event for as long as it has been in existence and said she was very excited about providing free medical services to community residents, many of whom do not have any health coverage. Standing with Ana Rodriguez from the Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens, she commented: "This is our ninth year. Without Ana's help, our community would not be able to have all of these free health screenings. We have 45 million Americans without health insurance. Whoever is here without health insurance can surely partake of all of the free screenings. Today's event is intergenerational. We have clowns. We have a bouncing castle. We have a DJ and face painting. We have balloons, food and all the free health screenings."

Poveromo and Rodriguez were all smiles, observing the hundreds of visitors taking advantage of the free community health fair and the services provided. Representatives from the Visiting Nurse Service of New York talked about the many services they provide to people in their homes. A station was set up for massage therapy sponsored by Workplace Wellness. Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens organized many booths offering different services, including starting an exercise program for health, blood pressure screening offered by the Emergency Department, Ask the Pharmacist, providing information about mixing medications and other drug-related questions, Everything You Wanted to Know about Advance Directives, offered by the Social Services Department, Osteoporosis/Bone Density Screening offered by the Nursing Department and "Lung Health" respiratory testing and glucose and cholesterol screening provided by the hospital laboratory.