The Community Health Alliance is holding its first family health fair of the season.
During these events, there are a lot of resources provided to the public. Some of the services families found here today included vaccines, the food bank mobile pantry, maternal and infant resources, behavioral health resources, SNAP and Medicaid registration, a bike raffle, and other basic needs as well.
Itzayana Montoya, the community health educator with Northern Nevada Public Health, explains why these events are so helpful: "There are a lot of barriers to accessing health care in our area and accessing resources. So whenever we host these events, we have them at different locations in Washoe County. We want to bring as many resources as possible into one central place so that people who are experiencing barriers can come to a one-stop-shop type of event, and they can access all of their resources in one place."
Victoria Nicolson, the public health nurse supervisor for their immunization program, explained how simple it is to get a back-to-school vaccine for the upcoming school year: "You don't have to wait in long lines. In the summer, people can't get appointments with their physicians because they're already booked months out, or they forget because they enjoyed their summer and missed it. Then they can't come into school when it starts because they don't have their required vaccines."
They have two more health festivals coming up this year: one in August at Hug High School and another in October at the Reno Livestock Events Center.
The resources available included vaccines, the food bank mobile pantry, maternal and infant resources, behavioral health recourses, SNAP and Medicaid registration, a bike raffle and other basic needs as well.
