Convenience, Cost Savings Offered at Back to School Health Fair

For some families in the Waukee school district, it's a matter of convenience.

For others, the Waukee Area Christian Services' Back to School Health Fair is a way to save money on procedures often not covered by health insurance -- if they even have insurance.

Students and their parents came to Westview Church July 15 to get free school, pre-school and sports physicals, dental and visual screenings, immunizations, lead testing, hair cuts, health insurance information (Hawk-I applications), prayer offerings and family community agency referrals as needed.

Amy Dobber, the church’s free clinic manager, said there is a rising need for health care assistance, especially for children. “It’s great to get them started on the right foot for the school year,” she said.

The Back to School Health Fair has been going on since 2009 and Melissa Stimple, director of Waukee Area Christian Services, said the first year they helped 13 families and the number of families served has been growing annually since.

“School and sports physicals can be very expensive and a lot of times insurance doesn’t cover them,” Stimple said. “Just through the free clinic we were looking at other ways to help people through the free clinic.”

Riley Anderson, a Prairieview School freshman and dance team member, was at the fair Monday to get a sports physical.

“We couldn’t get an appointment before dance team practice started, so it was convenient to come here,” Anderson said.

Echo Robben of Waukee took her seven-year-old daughter to the health fair.

“It’s very good for families that need it,” Robben said. “It gets everything done at once, you only make one appointment instead of ten.”

Stimple said sports start early, so they moved the clinic to an earlier date, hoping it will help people get physicals done.

“If they didn’t come today for the health fair the clinic is still open the second and third Monday of every month so they can certainly still come to get their school physicals done,” Stimple said. “This is just one day the services come together.”

School resumes Aug. 14 in the Waukee district.