Health and Wellness Expo set for Sept. 24

MOSES LAKE — The annual Central Washington Health and Wellness Expo is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 24 in the ATEC building on the Big Bend Community College campus. Sponsors are Columbia Basin Herald, Confluence Health, Samaritan Healthcare, Moses Lake Community Health, Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata and Health Alliance. Admission is free. As its name implies, the expo focuses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, providing information on health issues, introducing people to agencies and companies that can help them negotiate the healthcare system. And it’s more than that - it’s fun. “Lots of prizes and games for kids and adults,” said expo organizer Tera Redwine. The expo features a Kid Zone, which includes 300 teddy bears for kids to take through the Teddy Bear Clinic. Kids get a new teddy bear and go through the clinic, which teaches them about maintaining good health. Bears get a checkup and along the way their owners (and their moms and dads) get information about healthy habits. Local fire departments and EMS companies and agencies will bring emergency equipment for kids to look at and get close to. Depending on its availability, the LifeFlight emergency medical response helicopter will set down and let kids (and adults) take a peek inside. There’s a coloring contest sponsored by Samaritan Healthcare, and lots of other activities for children, Redwine said. Information will go out to schools in Moses Lake, Soap Lake, Ephrata and Quincy about two weeks prior to the expo. The ATEC building is filled with vendors all day. “The vendors come from all over,” she explained. The 2015 expo attracted more than 70 vendors, from agencies and health care providers, to skin care and nutrition companies, to health insurers, to financial planning, to home healthcare to retail companies (like Costco). Fall is the season for open enrollment in public health insurance programs like Medicare, and there will be Medicare information for seniors. Other topics for seniors will be covered as well. Demonstrations are also scheduled. One of her goals, Redwine said, is to expand the demonstration list, adding more exercise options for people of all ages, and regardless of their initial physical condition. The expo has its own Facebook page, and it will be updated as the date gets closer and more information becomes available.