Multiple booths were present at Saturday’s Mercy Health Community Event at Lima Senior High School.
Jacob Espinosa | The Lima News
LIMA — Visitors to Saturday’s Lima Noon Sertoma Original Pancake Day at Lima Senior High School got the chance to take advantage of Mercy Health’s Community Event just a few feet away in the gymnasium.
The event offered food, games and giveaways, as well as health screenings and resources.
“We aim to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the community by providing resources to those who have a need,” Mercy Health community health coordinator Anisha Hale said. “Our resident doctors are providing vitals in education for hypertension and diabetes today. We’re also making sure that people have resources like food, coats and laundry detergent with giveaways.”
Tamica Means said she brought her mother Delores Menifee out to spend time together and see something going on in the community while also visiting the pancake breakfast.
“I’m in town visiting my mother so this was an opportunity for the two of us to visit our alma mater,” she said. “We are both Lima Senior graduates and it’s a good opportunity to see what is going on in the community.”
Menifee said she usually comes to the event and took advantage of some of the screenings.
“Some people don’t get their blood checked,” she said. “But they do it here and everything.”
Mercy Health community health director Tyler Smith said the second edition of the event served as a good example of the hospital being able to bring the community services it needs and that he expects it to keep growing.
“I think the more that the community can take advantage of this, the more it will grow,” he said. “It’s of no cost to them to come out and get their health checked. We just want to be a partner for that.”
Hale pled for the community to know that Mercy Health was available for anyone to reach out with health concerns.
“You are seen and heard and if you don’t feel that you are, make sure you reach out so we can provide you with all the needs you have,” she said. “If you are having some challenges with your health, please reach out. You are not alone. Don’t feel like everything is a lost cause.”
For more information, visit mercy.com.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
