Downtown market vendors benefit from health expo

Vendors and workers within the downtown market area benefited from a health expo, which was aimed at improving access to basic health services for under-served communities.

Wednesday’s event, which was held at the Jubilee Commercial Centre, West Parade, was hosted in partnership with the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Infinity Medical and other key stakeholders in the health industry.

Volunteer doctors and nurses provided free basic metabolic screenings, health checks, and health education to members of the public.

These include blood pressure checks, blood sugar testing, cholesterol screening, diabetes and hypertension, counselling, nutrition counselling, HIV/STI testing, and medication review.

City inspector for the KSAMC, Alrick Francis, said that the initiative sought to provide vendors with easy access to essential health services.

He noted the event reflects the corporation’s commitment to supporting the well-being of those who provide an essential service to the city.

For his part, managing director of Infinity Medical, Dr Jeremiah Augustus, said in addition to the regular health screening, “we have been doing counselling, nutrition, and referrals from what we see here today”.

“Seeing that this is heart health month, we want to ensure that the different risk factors that contribute to different heart diseases are looked at. We are, therefore, looking at cholesterol levels, hypertension and diabetes … and aside from screening, we are also trying to see if we can get data for future events like these,” he said.

Meanwhile, visitor at the health fair, Rohan Dobbs said he decided to use the opportunity to investigate his health profile.

“I decided to take the opportunity to check up on myself. A lot of us men do not want to take the test; it’s important to make sure you are keeping on top of your health to make the necessary lifestyle changes,” he said.