Pleasant Point Health Fair a Hit Screenings Part of Indian Days

By DIANA GRAETTINGER; OF THE NEWS STAFF

PLEASANT POINT – The Pleasant Point Health Center has been telling people how to stay healthy for the past five years, and Friday was no exception when the health center held one of the largest health fairs in Washington County at the Boys and Girls Recreation Center.

Upon entering the center, visitors were greeted by Gail Dana Sacco and Kendra Sockabasin. “We are here today volunteering to help,” Sacco said. “This has become an annual event for the community that the people look forward to. This is a big gathering time for the whole community so it’s a good opportunity for people to learn about health issues and … it is fun.”

The health fair is part of the annual three-day Indian Days Celebration.

The recreation center was filled with booths that dealt with everything from family planning to sexual assault to mental health issues.

“We are going to be doing case management services for our people with Wabanaki Mental Health in September,” said health fair organizer Sandi Yarmal, executive director of the Pleasant Point Health Center.

Nancy Soctomah, coordinator of the tribe’s Peaceful Relations program, said her group serves all members of the Pleasant Point tribe. “We are promoting a positive message, ‘Be Good to Me.’ So we are focused on aspects of healthy relationships.”

Representatives of Sunrise County Dialysis in Eastport were on hand to describe good eating practices as well as hand out information about kidney disease. “We also are helping the National Kidney Foundation sign people up for early evaluation screening,” said social worker Kathi DiMiceli.

From there, it was on to the diabetes screening, which was a very important part of the fair.

“Of the top five diseases on the reservation, it is still No. 1 in our community,” Yarmal said. “Just over 11 percent of our population has Type 2 diabetes.”

Jessica Loney of the NAACP of Portland was taking height and weight measurements in preparation for the diabetes screening. Loney, who is part Cherokee, said that she enjoys visiting Pleasant Point.

“It helps me connect with my own Indian culture and my heritage,” she said.

This is the second year she has participated in the health fair. She said the two groups collaborate on numerous health issues.

Then it was time to step onto the weight scale. Few people cheered as the numbers rolled round and round. Next Loney directed people to stand in front of a pole so she could measure height.

The results were then written onto a health-screening sheet.

Jack Murphy of Down East Community Hospital in Machias was waiting, stethoscope in hand, ready to take everyone’s blood pressure. Those numbers also were added to the health sheet.

After that, it was on to the diabetes-screening table. Wielding the pinprick this year was Genevieve Stanley, who is a student at the University of Maine, where she is studying to be a nurse. She also is working part time at the reservation health center.

Donning gloves, she set up her diabetes screening tools, then it was a quick prick of the finger and the results.

The information was then keyboarded into a computer and each person was given a health-monitoring sheet that showed how he or she had done. Also this year, participants were given readings of their body mass indexes.

“It is a good general indication of a person’s overall size. It is a mathematical formula based solely on height and weight but it gives you a good idea of your level of risk for heart disease and diabetes,” Yarmal said. “It is not an exact measure, but it will give you a good idea of your own level of health.”

Next year, Yarmal said, she would like to add nutritional counseling.

(c) 2007 Bangor Daily News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.