UNION — Residents interested in getting information about available health care services and related matters are invited to attend the Health Fair/Wellness Workshop 2013 this Saturday at McBeth Baptist Church.

The annual fair/workshop is the third the church has sponsored during the past three years and Co-Facilitator Savtri Parham said it is designed to meet the need in the community for health care information.

“This our third year doing the health fair,” Parham said Thursday. “We saw a need in that there are a lot of people who weren’t aware of the services that are available to them and that could be affordable for them.”

Parham said the services provided at the fair/workshop are free. She said that last year the fair/workshop only provided blood pressure screening, eye exams, and Safe Home Abuse Prevention information. Parham said this year’s event has a lot more to offer because of the efforts of Dr. Natashia Jeter, who is also serving as a facilitator. She said in addition to what was offered last year, this year’s event offers:

• Information on natural pain relief.

• A combined station of the American Cancer Society and Best Chance Network which will provide information ON the possibility of free mammograms and pap smears.

• An Upstate Pediatric station.

• A station for the CHA Office and Wallace Thomson Hospital which will provide information on surgery and primary care.

• Women’s Health Services Union OB/GYN station.

• YMCA station.

• Family Dentistry

• A nutritionist

• Diabetic education

• Information on smoking cessation

• A health insurance broker

While she will be participating in this year’s event as she did in last year’s, Parham said that Jeter also contacted all the organizations that will be at Saturday’s fair/workshop and arranged for them to attend.

A Union native who attended McBeth Baptist Church while growing up, Jeter, an OB/GYN, returned to Union after a 20-year absence to practice medicine here and was invited to be part of the church’s new service to the community.

“McBeth is my home church, I grew up here in Union,” Jeter said. “I left Union for 20 years and I returned here to practice in January of 2012. Later in the year they invited me to be part of the health fair.”

Jeter said her involvement stems from her belief that services provided by the fair/workshop are of vital importance to the community.

“Diabetes, obesity, smoking, those are things that are prevalent in the community,” Jeter said. “Any information they can get to better their health in those areas would improve the community as a whole.”

In addition to the information and services, Parham said refreshments will be served and door prizes awarded.

Approximately 40 people attended the 2012 fair/workshop and Parham said she hopes there will be a bigger turnout this year. She those who attend will be asked about the event and what they would like to see there next year.

The Health Fair/Wellness Workshop 2013 will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at McBeth Baptist Church, 105 Lawson Avenue, Union.

For more information call Dr. Natashia Jeter at 864-427-8572 or Savtri Parham at 864-431-4148.

Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@civitasmedia.com.