NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A local elementary school hosted a free health fair for children in need on Thursday.
The health fair was held at Norman Binkley Elementary School.
Organizers told Nashville's News 2 many of the children and students receiving care are from lower income families or immigrants that can not afford health or dental services on a regular basis.
"If you have limited resources, you will make decisions not to do certain things. Maybe you will go to the doctor, but you won't go to the dentist, or you won't have your hearing checked," Eileen Beehan of Catholic Charities of Middle Tennessee said.
She continued, "People with limited resources restrict themselves because they know they have to make choices, so this opens a door for them to get something checked they may not have been able to afford."
Della Meyers told Nashville's News 2 that she currently does not have health insurance.
"I don't have insurance, like you said with the cost, it is very high and with people not having jobs and the economy the way it is, things like this help out a lot because people don't have the help," she said.
Meyers continued, "Especially with the people that don't have health insurance or the ones that don't have a job that can come out and get the free help. That's great."
Jane White of Pro health Medical Center said that immigrant families often face unique challenges that can prevent them from getting the care they need.
"A lot of times they don't have interpreters available at the doctors' offices and so we offer the different languages, if they speak different languages we have interpreter services here and we also have screenings they need," she explained.
According to Beehan, the free health care fair is always beneficial to those in attendance.
"There has not been a year that we've done this that we haven't found some major medical problem that a child needed help with and it has really made a difference in helping those individual lives," she said.
The health fair wrapped up at 5:30 p.m.
