Newtown’s annual Health Fair — a free event offering health and wellness services and information for all ages — is set for its 30th edition later this month.

Newtown Health District, with the support of other partners, will host the event at Newtown Community Center on Saturday, October 18, from 9 am to noon.

The Health Fair is a long-standing Newtown tradition, focused on informing and educating the community about different aspects of health and wellness.

Over 30 individuals, groups, and organizations will attend the Health Fair, including but not limited to: Connecticut Commission on Human Rights; Newtown Smile Dentistry; Newtown Strong Therapy Dogs; Western CT Coalition; Newtown Health Pharmacy; McCall Behavioral Health Network; Newtown Parent Connection; Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association, Inc; and Wheel It Forward, lending library for durable medical equipment.

An aspect that has been a part of the Health Fair from the very beginning is wellness screenings. This year’s event will offer screenings for vision, skin cancer, and blood pressure, as well as a posture analysis.

The Health Fair will also have a car seat safety check, sponsored by the Newtown Rotary Club. Housatonic Valley Health District will provide flu shots, which people need to bring their insurance card for.

This year’s organizers are also working with several different veteran organizations, from the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affair to different branches of The American Legion. These groups help veterans access services that are available to them.

American Legion 202 Post Commander and District 3 Chaplain Donna Monteleone noted in a press release with Newtown Health District that any veteran, regardless of what town or state they live in, can come to the Health Fair and sign up with Veterans Affairs. All they need to do, she said, is bring their DD-214 or their discharge papers.

The Health Fair will also have several different children’s activities, such as face painting and a bounce house.

Spreading Awareness

Health Fair Planning Committee Co-Chair Dr Della Schmid said she could not be more excited for the event, adding that she has helped organize the Health Fair “since day one.” Her fellow co-chair, Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert, has helped organize it for 28 years.

A woman named Mae Schmidle introduced herself to Schmid at a business women’s meeting in Newtown. Since Schmid was a chiropractor, Schmidle wanted to talk to her about her idea: a free health fair that would promote heart health.

“And then we met, we came to the health district, and we all decided to start this [as a] free [event]. Totally free,” Schmid said. “And it’s stayed that way ever since.”

Since then, Schmid said the Health Fair blossomed into a public service to the community, bringing healthcare providers, healthcare services, and other groups that work in Newtown together. The goal, she said, was to inform and educate the community.

Other organizers for this year’s Health Fair include Monteleone, Matt Ariniello, Natalie Griffith, Kaitlyn Johnson, Dr Joseph Young, and Neil Chaudhary.

To Culbert, the best part about the Health Fair is that people get to directly talk to professionals one-on-one about health and wellness.

“So they’re not just looking something up online, they can actually find someone and have a conversation with them, whether it’s about a specific health issue or improving their general health,” Culbert explained.

An added benefit, Culbert said, is that people who attend as exhibitors or service providers are reminded they are a part of a community.

“They tend to work in their fields, but when you get to be together, you remember that you’re part of a community that serving people,” Culbert said.

Culbert and Schmid are also excited to work with the VA again. Schmid said this is the second year they have had the VA come to the Health Fair.

“And [last year], we realized that there was definitely a need for it, and that veterans were not accessing services that they were entitled to, including healthcare services,” Schmid explained.

For Culbert, Schmid, and the others on the Health Fair Planning Committee, the event is a continuation of their mission to connect people to different healthcare services.

For more information about the Health Fair or Newtown Health District, visit newtown-ct.gov/newtown-health-district, call 203-270-4291, or e-mail health.district@newtown-ct.gov.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.