Wood River Health Offers Tools and Resources at Wellness Fair in Westerly
WESTERLY, RI (APRIL 11, 2022) – Wood River Health hosted 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, took place from 11 AM to 2 PM. The Wellness Fair was hosted outdoors and was free and open to the public.
The Head-to-Toe Wellness Fair, scheduled during school vacation week, is tailored towards families with children. There was free food, raffles, giveaways and activities for the kids. Health related information and resources were distributed by Wood River Health’s 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 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, sponsored the event and was 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 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 on site with “Crazy” Chris DiPaola interviewing representatives from WRHS and its community partners.
Attendees entered into free raffles for baskets and gift cards. Besides giving out child-sized racing jackets, Wood River Health and its partners distributed COVID-19 tests, N95 masks, hand sanitizer, backpacks, crayons, coloring books, nutritional cookbooks, dental kits and more.
There were 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.
