Health Fair Demonstrations

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department

It’s almost time for the 2023 Garrett County Health Fair and Family Fun Festival. The Garrett College CARC will be buzzing tonight and tomorrow morning as staff is preparing. The doors open to the public at 8:30 am, Saturday, April 15. Come early to have enough time to visit the nearly 80 vendor booths, and then hang around and participate in five health demonstrations throughout the morning.

9:00 a.m. “Reach or Throw, Don’t go!” A water safety presentation by Angela Luby, CARC Program Coordinator of Aquatics & Group Fitness. 

“Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1-4 and the second leading cause in children 5-14,” Luby said. “While our lifeguards are trained to enter the water for a rescue, you can teach children how to recognize and respond without entering the water. If we enter the water without training, then there could be two people in trouble instead of one. You can use anything from a pool noodle to a kayak paddle to help someone to safety. Some parks, rivers, and lakes give you access to rescue equipment such as ring buoys and rescue throw bags. In this session I will show you how to use these tools to help someone in trouble.”

9:30 a.m. Community CPR and Choking Prevention presented by Aron Lipscomb, Care Coordination Manager at Mountain Laurel Medical Center. 

“As a trusted healthcare provider, families look to you for guidance and education on issues that affect the health and well-being of their children,” Lipscomb said. “The ability for bystanders to perform CPR or choking relief in a cardiac or respiratory emergency can mean the difference between life and death.”

10:00 a.m. Garrett Trails: All Terrain Wheelchair demonstration, presented by Josh Spiker, Executive Director.

“In 2022, Garrett Trails donated a GRIT Spartan all terrain wheelchair to the Deep Creek Lions Club for use at the Meshach Browning Trail system in McHenry,” Spiker said. “The goal of the partnership is to increase trail accessibility for residents and visitors who have mobility restrictions. Garrett Trails and the Lions Club are working to go beyond providing a small number of all-terrain chairs for use and seek to collaborate with the adaptive community and other agencies on innovative trail designs that serve a diverse user group.”

11:00 a.m. Jazzercise demonstration led by Maranda Gallagher.

“Jazzercise is the original dance party workout!” Gallagher said. “Jazzercise has stood the test of time by continuously evolving to get results.  Jazzercise blends dance cardio with Pilates, yoga, kickboxing, and strength training for the ultimate full-body workout. Jazzercise also offers high and low impact as well as high and low intensity workouts to make fitness accessible to the full community. Join us for a fun time exercising or, just watch and see if Jazzercise is for you.”

11:30 a.m. How Well Do You Know Nutrition Trivia! by Brittany Young, Health Education Specialist, with Maryland Physician’s Care.

“Test your knowledge on tasty food substitutions, fast and easy food storage, and quick “the more you know” nutrition label reading tips,” said Young.

Prizes will be given out throughout the day, and many booths have incentives to pick up along the way. The event closes down at 12:30 pm, so don’t miss the fun!