Health Fair at Wellness Center called a success
The 4th annual Health Fair at the Cape Coral Wellness Center, which was held on Wednesday, was called a success due to the large crowd that attended, along with the amount of information provided on numerous diseases and illnesses.
Salvatore Lacagnina, Lee Memorial Health System vice president of health and wellness, said the fair was going really well due to the large turnout. He explained that it is the best turnout that the center has had due to a different approach organizers took of getting the word out to the community.
Lacagnina said the Health Fair is also held to put the Wellness Center in the spotlight to let people know what it has to offer. The Wellness Center, which is open to the public, offers 90 classes a week for its members.
Sue Cook, an employee of the Wellness Center, spent the day handing out information about the facility to those who were interested because she really “believes in” what it has to offer. She explained that she sent quite a few people up to the front desk Wednesday for tours of the Wellness Center due to their interest of joining.
“It is very successful,” she said about the fair, there is a “great flow of people.”
The Wellness Center is open from 5:30 a.m. until 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. The membership is $45 a month for residents and $33 for employees and volunteers of the hospital. A three-month membership of $99 is also available.
Lacagnina said there are currently about 4,000 members at the Wellness Center with a total capacity of about 6,000.
For those who are interested in receiving a free pass to try out the Wellness Center, visit www.leememorial.org and click on the Wellness Center.
Many other tables were set up during the Health Fair to bring awareness to the community.
Stephanie Perez, a registered nurse from Health Park, passed out information about exceptional cardiac care Wednesday afternoon. She spent the morning passing out a magnet that highlighted heart attack signs, which included chest, arm, back, neck, jaw and stomach discomfort. Other sings included on that list are breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or light-headedness.
“It is a great opportunity to educate people,” she said about her first time of attending the fair. “It has been a really good turnout.”
Debbie Fasenmyer, office manager of Heart and Soul Massage Therapy and Day Spa, was also at the event providing free five-minute chair massages for those who attended.
“I am excited about the turnout,” she said, noting that the fair attracted more individuals from the previous year. “I think it’s a good idea for the new year of trying to educate the public of what Lee Memorial offers to the community.”
An intern at the Wellness Center, Sonja Bloch, provided assistance to those who wished to participate in a physical fitness test Wednesday. The different tests included leg strength, flexibility, cardio ability and balance.
She said between 35 and 40 individuals participated in the physical fitness test before noon.
There are “a lot of people wanting to sign up,” Bloch said.
Attendee Connie Archey, a part-time Cape Coral resident who had an assortment of pamphlets in her hands, said that there was a lot of information available on many different subject matters. She said she specifically attended the fair to find out more information on various diseases and illnesses that her family has.
“It helps to have more information on things that affect your family,” Archey said.
Although it was her first time attending the fair at the Cape Coral Wellness Center, she said she attended many fairs in Pennsylvania and has found them very helpful.
Another part-time resident from Michigan also attended the fair for the first time Wednesday.
Adah Goodhand said she thought the fair was wonderful because she gained information about breathing properly.
“I know what to do about it,” she said smiling.
When asked if she would attend again next year, she replied, “definitely.”