DCH Community Health Fair Offers Free Screenings & Family Fun Saturday

More than 1,000 people are expected to get free health screenings for a variety of issues and enjoy free family fun at Tuscaloosa's upgraded Snow Hinton Park on Saturday.

The DCH Community Health Fair is in its third year after first launching in Snow Hinton Park in 2023.

The free event moved to Government Plaza last year while $10 million upgrades were underway at the park, but will return to its first home on Saturday morning for this year's iteration.

Get our free mobile app

Dawn Alexander, chief nursing officer for the DCH Health System, said 500 people attended the Fair in 2023, 800 came last year and organizers expect that number to exceed 1,000 participants and attendees on Saturday.

"We'll have face painting for the kids and because it's Easter weekend, we'll have an Easter egg hunt in the Kids' Zone," Alexander said. "We will do mindfulness breaks as a part of our focus on mental health this year and as always, we'll do healthy cooking tips and have a cooking demonstration with our food nutrition services team. We'll have some kind of fun aerobic activity, whether it's Zumba, line dancing, or something else just something to get people up and moving and we're projected to have great weather."

The Community Health Fair is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in Snow Hinton Park in Tuscaloosa, and Alexander said there will be more than just fun in the sun - 30 DCH Departments will be there to discuss their specialties and help people get or remain healthy.

Counter-intuitive though it may seem, DCH administrators don't want people in their hospitals unless they really need to be there. Events like the Health Fair can enable people to be informed about their health and make any changes that may be necessary to keep other hospital beds free.

"We encourage everyone to come, bring your family, bring your kids, bring your dogs, just come out and enjoy the weather, enjoy the fact that you can have fun while learning how to keep yourself healthy," Alexander said. "We'll have cholesterol screening, blood pressure tests, blood sugar screening, diabetes education - everything that you could possibly imagine at a health fair. We are here to support our community."

The event this year is sponsored by the city of Tuscaloosa, DCH Foundation, Health Trust, Baxter, Capstone Hospitalist, Alabama Power and the University Medical Center.