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NANAY-SAN FRANCISCO KICKS OFF NEW YEAR WITH A HEALTH FAIR

January 29, 2007 - San Francisco

Forty seniors attended and took part in the NANAY-San Francisco Health Fair on January 20, 2007 at the Woolf House on 801 Howard Street, San Francisco.   The Fair was held from 8 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  Volunteer doctors, nurses and medical technologists from the Philippine Medical Society of Northern California (PMSNC), Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET), and American Heart Association (AHA) participated.  This is the second Health Fair sponsored by NANAY-San Francisco.  The first one was held in April, 2005 in collaboration with Fil-Am Council on 19^th and Mission Streets in San Francisco.

It was a harsh, cold Saturday morning -- one of a series of severe, low 30s weather never before experienced in the San Francisco Bay Area.  But these caring volunteers braved the weather and arrived early.  By 8:00 a.m., they were up and ready to take blood pressure, glucose meter reading, and pass out health literature.  A ?Doctor Consultation? table was also set up for seniors who may have questions and concerns on their health. After the reading, seniors and volunteers feasted on traditional Filipino breakfast, including tosilog, longsilog, puto and kutsinta.

AHA nurse Estrella Manio gave a 30-minute talk on the dangers of high blood pressure.  The audience, mostly Filipinos, were warned of their eating habits.  She told them how to detect when one is about to have a heart attack or a stroke and what to do when that happens.  The talk was followed by an open forum. The people were reminded to read the AHA brochure titled ?Eat Heart Smart-Filipino Style.?  It was developed by the Filipino Community Heart Council in San Francisco.

 Not to be outdone, NANAY youth volunteers Sheena Dela Cruz and Virgil Ortigas were busy at the Medical Trivia table giving away health-related quizzes and distributing prizes to high scorers.  NANAY also gave away two major raffle prizes and consolation prizes.  The Oster brand toaster was won by Simplicio Yuma and another Oster brand toaster-oven was won by Restituto Yba?z, both Woolf House residents. 

Dr. Agnes Alikpala, PMSNC; Mila Braganza, PAMET; Donna Lew and Estrella Manio, AHA also participated in the health fair, along with their able staff.

The NANAY staff and volunteers who made the event a success are:  Flor de los Santos, Emmy and Louie Dela Cruz, Virgie Buban, Anne Cruz, Sheena Dela Cruz, Virgil Ortigas, Herminia Espina, Lita Cartmill, Cecille Hontiveros, and Margie Ortigas.