BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A variety of health-related resources came together at a health and wellness fair Wednesday at an event hosted by the Preventive Measures Foundation.
"I've been having trouble with health care and being treated properly and just the right medications,” said Stacey Messina, of Bethlehem, as she walked into the sixth floor of Northampton Community College's Fowler Center.
She said she was looking for answers to her health care questions.
“To see if there's any alternate help that they can offer or new doctors, possibly, that could help me," Messina said.
The Preventive Measures Foundation held its Holistic Wellness Health Fair with more than 20 vendors in attendance and several presentations with topics including diabetes, spiritual awareness and overall health.
Paula Gonzalez, the Preventative Measures Foundation’s program director, said her organization helps connect people to the mental health resources they may need and they wanted to expand those resources beyond mental health.
"Our clients are often transient or in and out of situations, of difficult situations, whether they're health situations, they may be temporary or the first time they've experienced," Gonzalez said. "So, we want to make sure that we're continuously giving this information out."
While the event was held in Bethlehem, the services span the Lehigh Valley at large. Among the attendees was Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk.
"All of what we do is public health, so when I have an opportunity to talk to friends about taking steps to make our cities healthier, I'm always interested."Allentown Mayor Matt Turek
"My belief is that everything the mayor does is a public health decision,” Tuerk said. "All of what we do is public health, so when I have an opportunity to talk to friends about taking steps to make our cities healthier, I'm always interested."
The event is just one way the Preventative Measures Foundation is trying to spread the word about their services and the services of their partner organizations.
"We also try to work on eliminating the stigma behind mental health," Gonzalez said. "So we do a lot of programs and presentations throughout the year, and we also provide free mental health if someone is in need of mental health treatment and doesn't have the money."
She said the Preventative Measures Foundation also offers financial support to those needing mental health care assistance.
"[We] refer them to our clinic, but they do have the option, you know. If they have a provider and they lost insurance, they do have the option to be able to access their own mental health,” said the program director.
The Preventative Measures Foundation is the nonprofit sector of a for-profit mental health services company of the same name.
It provides medication management, clinical therapy as well as intakes, psychiatric assessments, psychiatric evaluations, and outpatient services. The clinic is employed by nurse practitioners, board-certified psychiatrists and licensed clinical therapists.
