National Health Center Week events planned in Merced
Health Centers in Merced County are taking part in National Health Center Week with various events starting this weekend.
National Health Center Week will be officially observed from Sunday through Aug. 15 , but local events will kick off Saturday.
Livingston Community Health will start with its Back to School Fair from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at its 1140 Main St. location in Livingston. The fair will offer immunizations, well-child checkups, as well as sports physicals for children and teens.
Children who preregister also may receive a backpack with school supplies.
That same day, Castle Family Health Center in Atwater will host its Summer Family Health Festival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The health fair will feature numerous free exams, including: vision, hearing and dental screenings. Breast exams, Tdap vaccinations and diabetes screenings also will be available at the 3605 Hospital Road location.
On Monday, Livingston Community Health will host an open house at its recently opened dental facility at Hilmar Health Center. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., visitors will get the opportunity check out the services the dental clinic has to offer. The Hilmar Health Center is located at 7970 Lander Ave. in Hilmar.
Livingston Community Health also will host a Homeless Health Day on Wednesday in support of homeless women with supplies donated by staff. Meanwhile on Thursday, the center will have its third annual scholarship fundraiser dinner in support of its health careers scholarship program.
The fundraiser will take place at the Hilmar Cheese Co. and will include a tri-tip dinner and a live and silent auction. Tickets for the event are available at 209-394-1334.
Also on Thursday, Golden Valley Health Centers will host a luncheon in honor of one of its founding board members, Flora Martinez of Planada. Martinez is best known for leading the charge to save the Childs Ave. facility in the early 1980s when the opening of a new school threatened to move the clinic out of the area.
Golden Valley Health Centers will also put on a South Merced Block Party on Aug. 14. The event will be an opportunity for residents to get connected with local health resources in the community. The event will run from 5 to 8 p.m. at its 737 W. Childs Ave. location. The event also will include food, music, entertainment and activities for children.
The festivities for Golden Valley will end on Saturday at the Modesto Nuts baseball game with a ‘thank you’ to the centers’ 850 employees.
National Health Center Week is held annually in observance of the services provided by these sites. According to nationalhealthcenterweek.org, health centers are known to provide cost-effective care, oftentimes in underserved communities. It is estimated 1 in 15 people living in the United States depend on health centers for medical care.
This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "National Health Center Week events planned in Merced."