The 2009 Health Fair, held in the parking lot on April 25 at Sagebrush Medical Center, was put on by Kern Medical Center and Sagebrush and was free to the public.

There were over 35 different companies at the event to inform people of the many different resources out there for them.

Some of the nurses and doctors of Sagebrush and KMC put the fair together, and they were on hand to inform the public, too.

One of the doctors, Paul Miller, said, “Basically, we are just trying to get people out here to learn about different healthcare like screenings.”

Many people had their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol checked at the fair.

“There are tons of information out here, and programs that people can be put into.” Miller said, “And now it is so important with the economy the way it is. People do not have access to health care, so we have organizations out here, so people can get the care they need.”

There was also a vendor there to give people fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of the people there were gathered around the dunk tank.

“We have the dunk tank, so if you want to get back at your doctor for all those nasty shots you got over the years, you can come take your shot,” Miller said. “Our mission has been to serve the community, and this is an extension of that.”

Some of the companies that were there were Kern County Fire Department, Healthy Smiles, The Girl Scouts of America, Kern Family Health Care, Terrio Health and Harmony, Links for Life, Houchin Blood Bank, and Kern Medical Reserve Corps.

“We are here to inform people of our program and sign them up to be volunteers in the event of a disaster,” said Barbara Swanson, director of the Kern Medical Reserve Corps. “We need medical people, non-medical people and mental health professionals, and we work within the scope of the emergency operations plan for the County of Kern, so if there was a disaster and local health care needed more personnel, which is the expectation, then we would provide medical, non-medical, and mental health volunteers.”

After the end of the fair, there was a clown there named “Chuck Oh! The Clown,” Who making balloon hats for the kids.