Wood River Health Services hosts Wellness Fair on April 19

Free food and check-ups!

Wood River Health Services (WRHS) is hosting an outdoor Head-to-Toe Wellness Fair on Tuesday, April 19 at its Westerly location at 11 Wells Street. 

The event, sponsored by Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, is from 11 AM to 2 PM. The Wellness Fair will take place outdoors and is free and open to the public.

The Head-to-Toe Wellness Fair, scheduled during school vacation week, is tailored towards families with children. There will be free food, raffles, giveaways and activities for the kids. 

Health related information and resources will be distributed by WRHS’ Medical, Dental, and Behavioral Health Services, its Community Resources Team and Women, Infants & Children (WIC) department and its community partners.

“The Wellness Fair is an opportunity for members of our community to connect with our providers and staff outside of a health care setting,” stated Alison Croke, President and CEO of WRHS. “We will be distributing tools and resources that will improve the quality of life of our community members. It’s also an opportunity for southwestern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut residents to get their health-related questions answered outside of their doctor’s office.”

“The idea of hosting a Head-to-Toe Wellness Fair sparked from a very unexpected donation,” shared Sarah Channing, Director of Development and Communications at WRHS. “Late last year, a gentleman who wishes to remain anonymous donated over 50 beautiful child-sized racing jackets. Our Development Office, Community Resources Team and WIC staff members brainstormed ways to get them to families.”

She continued, “We realized distributing the jackets would be a great way to raise awareness about the resources we offer to the community, not just here at Wood River Health Services but also those provided by our partners. Our ideas kept snowballing, resulting in what we hope will become an annual event at our Westerly facility.”

Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 health maintenance organization, is sponsoring the event and will be onsite at the Wellness Fair to provide resources and answer questions about its medical plans. “We are proud and honored to support this important event, which brings critical wellness information and resources to at-risk Rhode Islanders in a manner that ‘meets them where they are’,” said Brenda Seagrave-Whittle, chief marketing officer of Neighborhood. “This is exactly what Wood River Health Services excels at – embedding whole health services directly in the community, making them accessible to all and innovating the way in which they are delivered.”

Community partners exhibiting at the event include Chariho Youth Taskforce, Head Start, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, Genoa Pharmacy, the Jonnycake Center of Westerly, Young Adult Author Kara Marziali, the Olean Center, Parents as Teachers, the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center, RIte Smiles Dental and UnitedHealthcare. “Westerly’s Only Radio Station,” WBLQ will broadcast live onsite with “Crazy” Chris DiPaola interviewing representatives from WRHS and its community partners.

Attendees can enter into free raffles for baskets and gift cards. Besides giving out child-sized racing jackets, WHRS and its partners will distribute COVID-19 tests, N95 masks, hand sanitizer, backpacks, crayons, coloring books, nutritional cookbooks, dental kits and more.

There will be giveaways and arts and crafts activities for the kids including balloon animals. Food and drink have been donated by Domino’s Pizza in Westerly and Whole Foods in Cranston. The rain date for this event is Thursday, April 21. For more information, visit woodriverhealthservices.org/wellnessfair.

About Wood River Health Services

Since 1976, Wood River Health Services (WRHS) has provided high-quality affordable medical, dental and social services to the communities of southwestern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut. A private, non-profit Community Health Center, WRHS is devoted to providing quality patient care to more than 8,000 patients. It is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. WRHS is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), a community-based health care provider that receives funds from the HRSA Health Center Program to provide primary care services in underserved areas. FQHCs must adhere to a stringent set of requirements including providing care on a sliding fee scale based on the ability to pay and operating under a governing board that includes at least 51% patient-members. For information about its programs and services, visit WRHSRI.org.