Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 20, 1991                   TAG: 9104200104
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: FLOYD                                LENGTH: Medium

FLOYD HEALTH FAIR OFFERS TESTS, BALLOONS, FOOD DEMONSTRATIONS

There will be low-fat cooking demonstrations, blood pressure, and lung capacity and cholesterol checks will be available. And Vince and Larry - the car crash safety dummies - will give away balloons.

These festivities are part of a health fair held by the county health department's Planned Approach to Community Health program, PATCH.

PATCH volunteers picked three main areas for the focus of their first fair: heart disease, cancer and automobile accidents.

In 1989, out of 129 deaths in Floyd County, 54 were from heart disease, 31 from cancer and 11 from all types of accidents.

"They picked the top three causes of death," said Susan Fisher, a health educator with the Floyd County Health Department. "The program decided to look at programs that were already out there that people don't know about."

So today, about 20 organizations will take over the rescue squad facility on U.S. 221 a mile north of Floyd for the fair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The groups participating include the county health department and extension service, community social service groups, several anti-drug and anti-alcohol abuse organizations, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association and three hospitals in the region.

"Actually, it wasn't that hard at all," Suzanne Kurtz, an intern with the health department, said about getting the organizations involved. "We would call people up and they were very willing to participate, to have someone here to speak."

Several of the organizations are doing more than providing information.

The health department will do blood pressure screenings. The extension service will demonstrate low-fat cooking. Montgomery Regional Hospital will offer lung capacity tests. Lewis-Gale Hospital in Salem will perform health risk assessments. And Radford Community Hospital will check cholesterol levels for $5, the only service for which there is a charge.

This fair is the first PATCH-sponsored health fair in Virginia. Floyd County was the first locality in the state to begin the community-based health promotion program.

But it won't be the last. The success in Floyd County has the New River Health District looking to start more PATCH programs in the next few months.

"We plan to expand," said Dr. Margaret Robinson, the district health director. "Possibly into Pulaski County, but we haven't decided yet. Ultimately, we hope to have one in every locality."