The turnout was strong for Thursday’s Health & Wellness Fair at the Manteca Senior Center.
“Most came out in the morning and stayed through lunch,” said Brandy Clark of the event made available to seniors age 50 and older along with their caregivers.
They received information not to mention the resources to help enhance and support their daily living, health and interests.
Part of the lure of the fair was the vendor booths.
Clark, who is the City of Manteca’s Recreation Supervisor and overseer of the senior program, noted that this Health & Wellness Fair had doubled the number of vendors compared to that of the previous year.
Included were Doctors Hospital of Manteca, Costco Hearing Aid Center, Humana Health Insurance, Wesson Hearing Center, Alignment Health Plan, Apex Care, Bristol Hospice, Valley Chiropractic Center, Veteran’s Home Care of California, Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services, Scan Health Plan and the San Joaquin County Aging & Community Services, to name a few.
They were all on hand to provide answers to questions. Many provided free handouts, from Port Authority Clothing canvas bags to Doctors Hospital ink pens.
“It was more about the games and giveaways,” said Clark of this health fair. “This was a no-pressure, non-confrontational event for those attending – they were really here to have fun.”
Some enjoyed the demos provided by the vendors.
The fair included free lunch made possible by the Prestige and Brookdale senior living facilities.
This is the second year of the health fair’s return to the senior center.
“There used to be (a health fair here) years ago but was discontinued – we brought it back last year,” Clark said.
She was pleased with numbers, in particular, during the early stages.
Clark added that following the conclusion of the health fair that it was still too early to get a total head count.
“It was definitely more than last year,” she said.
To contact reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com.
Manteca Health & Wellness seniors event well attended