"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Cherokee Elder Care to Host Health Fair

Tahlequah, Oklahoma - Cherokee Elder Care will host a free community health fair on Friday, May 29, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Tahlequah facility, located at 1387 W. 4th Street. The event is being sponsored by Cherokee Nation Home Health Services.

The health fair, entitled “Health Under the Big Top,” will offer information about health and a healthy lifestyle, screening booths for blood pressure and blood sugar checks, food, games and more. The event is for entire families to come and learn more about their health, as well as receive information on various health programs in the area. Information about Cherokee Elder Care and tours of the facility will also be available.

“This is not the traditional health fair. At Cherokee Elder Care, we encourage our participants to be active both physically and mentally,” said Katina Dugger, Community Education Liaison for Cherokee Elder Care. “Most of the informational booths will have a game or an activity for the public to participate in as well.”

All area health programs are encouraged to host a booth at the event. Booth space is free and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Vendors are responsible for booth equipment, including tables and chairs. Electricity will not be available.

Since opening in 2008, Cherokee Elder Care serves enrolled participants and is the only program in Oklahoma that is part of the national Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and the only one in the country sponsored by a Native American tribe. The program is an option for anyone who is at least 55 years of age, certified as needing some level of nursing home level care by a Department of Human Services (DHS) nurse and lives safely in a home environment within the program’s service area. Participants in the program do not have to be a Cherokee Nation citizen or Native American to enroll.

As an all-inclusive care program, those enrolling in the program must agree for Cherokee Elder Care to be their primary medical provider and will provide all prescribed medications, therapy, nutrition counseling, home health services, social activities, transportation, laboratory services, social services, medical equipment, hospitalization, nursing care and adult day health care. Dr. Douglas Young, one of the only geriatric physicians in the Tahlequah area, will be their primary care physician and leads a team of health care providers and specialists in the care of each participant. For more information about Cherokee Elder Care or to reserve booth space at the event, call Katina Dugger, phone: 918-207-4979 or by e-mail: kdugger@cherokee.org.