By Gabrielle Terrett

The Vicksburg Post

The Mississippi Professional Chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers is teaming up with the Medical Spanish Interest Group to present the first Hispanic Health Fair.

The fair will be held at St. Michael Church, 100 St. Michael Place, Sunday, Oct. 14, from 2 to  5 p.m.

It is a free event and the SHPE-MS hopes to make it annual.

“The purpose of this event is to offer free health services to the Hispanic community,” said Geraldo Velazquez, one of the organizers.

“It is for those in the Hispanic Community who may not have health insurance or otherwise be able to afford these basic health services.”

Free health screenings will be offered and doctors will be testing for diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Doctors will also measure body weight and discuss healthy eating and weight loss.

“At the Health Fair, we will have what they call preventive medicine procedures done,” Velazquez said.

“They usually have more practices showcased in Jackson, but we will be testing for diabetes, high blood pressure and telling people about weight loss options because it’s a big issue in not only the Hispanic community but the entire community.”

The doctors conducting the health fair will be a team of professionals from the University of Mississippi Medical Center led by Dr. Alan D. Penman, a professor of medicine.

The organizations usually hosts screenings at churches and schools in Jackson to offer health services to the Spanish-speaking Community.

“A lot of members of the Hispanic Community do not speak English, and they will not go to the doctor until it is too late,” Velazquez said. “We want them to feel comfortable learning about their health from doctors who speak their native language.”

“We’re basically trying to help the Hispanic Community learn more about their health and if we have a good turnout this year we hope to open the health fair up to more people in the future,” said Velazquez.