Singing River Health System hosts free health fair

MOSS POINT, Miss. (WLOX) - Singing River Health System opened a free health fair at Pelican Landing in Moss Point Sunday. Medical staff were on hand to administer blood and cancer screenings along with information for other health-related issues.

“Our community needs this,” said Moss Point Mayor Billy Knight. “There are so many people who don’t have insurance, can’t afford insurance and this is an opportunity Singing River is offering our people to get screenings and information.”

Knight is proud to see SRHS take a proactive approach in his community.

“If we can prevent some of these medical issues by getting ahead of it,” he said. “We have to be more proactive with everything, but with your health for sure. You need to be more proactive. This is about preventive medicine”

Among the staff at the health fair is the cancer services director, Chip Ginn.

“We try to get out in the community,” Ginn said. “Transportation is a challenge. We try to do a lot of fundraisers to help support transportation because a lot of people, it’s out of sight out of mind. Getting out here today and bringing awareness to it is huge.”

Ginn says that he has seen firsthand the impact these free health screenings have made in communities across South Mississippi.

“There’s a lot of cancers that are curable if we catch it early,” he said. “Screenings, colonoscopies, mammograms -- all of those things are extremely important. That’s the life or death difference. Children at home, families -- you can’t really explain how impactful it is to the patient to catch it early.”

The health fair offered more than just screenings. Staff were there from different departments to let community members know about the resources that are available to them through SRHS.

“It’s not only about your physical health, but your mental health,” Knight said. “People are going through a lot of stress right now and this is important because if they’re stressed, they can get that information and know where to go. It’s all about prevention. I can’t stress that enough.”

Singing River Health plans to make this an annual fair in Moss Point in hopes that more people will get screenings that could save their lives.

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