Annual Lake County health fair readies kids for school

The Lake County Health Department is set to kick off its largest free health fair for children of low-income families.

The 16th annual Kids 1st Health Fair is 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Miguel Juarez Middle School, 201 N. Butrick, Waukegan.

Roughly 500 volunteers, including nurses, lab technicians, health aids, clerical staff, doctors, dentists, community members and people with bilingual skills help children of limited-income families receive medical services needed to start school.

"We have a lot of volunteers where (before) we were always scraping by," said Sharon Doney, Lake County Health Department health educator who helped start the fair. "We have so much support now and so many volunteers. It's been institutionalized."

The event, co-sponsored by the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, picked up a new sponsor this year, the United Way of Lake County.

For the first time, health department staff will be using a new tuberculosis screening tool at the fair to determine if children need TB tests.

Parents answer a questionnaire about whether their child has traveled outside the country, spends a lot of time in a community known to have a high rate of TB, and has one or more of the following symptoms: cough lasting more than 3 weeks, fever/chills, shortness of breath, night sweats, weight loss, or unusual fatigue.

Health officials expect to provide a lot more TB tests to at-risk children this year than ever before because of the new screening survey.

The fair offers children from qualifying families, in kindergarten through ninth grade, free physical and dental exams, immunizations, and needed blood work to meet state preschool and school health requirements. A variety of other health screenings, including lead and hemoglobin, will also be provided.

Organizers anticipate attendance will meet or exceed the 601 families and 1,358 children from across the county served last year. That fair provided 645 school physicals, 195 lead tests, 314 immunizations, 72 hemoglobin tests, 477 dental screens, and 185 TB tests.

The event has served 23,480 children since its inception in 1993.

"This fair is basically a one-stop shop for meeting a wide variety of kids' health needs," said Irene Pierce, Lake County Health Department executive director. "We're providing immunizations, dental screenings, physicals and much more all in one visit, so parents don't have to schedule multiple appointments for their children."

This year, the Respiratory Association of Metropolitan Chicago will be on-hand to discuss asthma symptoms and management since asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism. Rosalind Franklin University will offer foot and shoe assessments, physical therapy, nutrition screenings and information on behavioral health issues. Families can also fill out applications to All-Kids, a health insurance program for children.

A variety of social service agencies will provide families with information on issues, such as child care, crisis intervention, education, health services, housing, employment, parenting, substance abuse, legal services, safety, family counseling and other community services.

After completing all required health services, children will receive a new backpack filled with age-appropriate school supplies, provided this year by Catalyst, a coalition of area churches.

"That was just a wonderful donation," Doney said. "At least $20,000 worth of stuff that we didn't need to buy or have donated from other sources this year."

Also this year, refurbished bikes will also be raffled off to children who visit the information booths.

The 16th annual Kids 1st Health Fair offers immunizations and health screenings from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Miguel Juarez Middle School, 201 N. Butrick, Waukegan.

To qualify for fair services, families must meet the following requirements:

• All children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

•Two forms of identification are required, including one with an address.

• Each working adult must bring two paycheck stubs.

• A child's previous immunization record is needed for immunizations.

• A family of four with a gross income limit of $39,220 would qualify for fair services.

For information, call Sharon Doney, county health educator, at (847) 377-8103.