By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

RESERVE — Attendees to the May 8 River Parishes Hospital’s Senior Health Fair were able to take advantage of free blood sugar, blood pressure, vision and fall risk screenings provided by the hospital and students from South Central Louisiana Technical College.

The fair was held at the St. John Council on Aging Activities Center in Reserve.

Information about hospital medical staff and services and the Senior Friends Program was available to participants.

During a pastalaya lunch, Dr. José Cuscó, an internal medicine physician, gave a presentation about congestive heart failure, a common reason for hospital admissions among people age 65 and older. Information was also given out about the hospital’s congestive heart failure support group.

“We provide a yearly health fair to the members of the St. John Council On Aging because many of the senior citizens no longer drive and receive transportation to and from the center each day by bus,” Tammy Waltz, community relations coordinator at River Parishes Hospital, said. “They may have difficulty finding transportation to and from a physician’s office to have their recommended screenings.

“The fair also allows students at the South Central Louisiana Technical College to observe and perform the screenings in the presence of a trained professional.”