Health fair held at L’view Elementary

VW independent/submitted information

The Van Wert Medical Services office held a health fair at Lincolnview Elementary School this past Friday for students in grades 3-5. Twelve businesses and safety offices participated in the event.

“Community involvement that engages the students,” Van Wert County Hospital Community Wellness Coordinator Anne Dunn said about this year’s health fair.

And engaged they were. Approximately 215 elementary students were able to peek inside and explore the inner workings of a Lutheran Air medical transport helicopter, a fire truck from Middle Point Fire Department, an Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser, and a K9-unit vehicle from the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office.

“We want the kids to be exposed to different aspects of health and safety,” Dunn added. “That’s why we added more collaborators and sponsors to the fair.”

The students were also able to learn about the following: CPR from Lutheran Mobile ICU, bullying and healthy relationships from the Pregnancy Life Center, dental health from Family Health Care of Northwest Ohio, disability awareness from Therapy Solutions, creating active minds and lifestyles from the Gaylord E. Leslie Wellness Center, social media and Internet safety from Westwood Behavioral Health Center, healthy eating habits from the YWCA, and backyard safety from the Kenn-Feld Group.

The Kenn-Feld Group may seem out of place at a health fair, but that’s not necessarily true.

“We come to these all the time,” said Jim Bonifas of the Kenn-Feld Group. “It’s important to show kids the safety of using lawnmowers and other potentially dangerous backyard tools, as well as wearing the proper clothes and footwear to prevent any accidents.”

This health fair marks Lincolnview’s ninth year of promoting healthy lifestyles to elementary students. The medical services office has held a health fair at Van Wert City Schools for more than a decade, and next week will be the first they’ve hosted at Crestview Local Schools.

“We want the youth of local schools to be more active and know more about healthy lifestyles,” said Dr. Matt Miller, a local family physician and one of the coordinators of the county health fairs. “We’ve asked multiple health and safety groups to attend because we want it to be a community effort, not just a one-organization effort.”

Miller was joined by Dr. Jen Hohman, a pediatrician at Van Wert Medical Services, in coordinating the health fair.

The hospital was also a collaborator for the event.