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hospital. This is a lovely, lovely event...there's about a dozen different walk-in screenings available, a half dozen screenings you can get if you pre-register and a number of health-related businesses that set up in a huge tent in an auxiliary parking lot and have flyers advertising their business and experts available to answer questions. Two things make this a lovely, lovely event: first, the businesses give out a LOT of swag. I just counted up my loot...15 freebies ranging from food (bottled water, a bag of smart popcorn, an orange, a bag of Welch's fruit snacks, a single pack of protein powder, a single pack of...something made from dandelions that one of the businesses used to make a latte) to useful items (some Fixident toothpaste and a brush for Dad, a mini flashlight, a digital thermometer) to novelty items (a stress ball, a fabric fan, a rain poncho, and a reusable bag to carry it all in). I passed on stuff I absolutely didn't need (or want): pens, pencils, reusable water bottles, toothpaste, toothbrushes, candy (why was the table promoting management of diabetes handing out full sugar candy???). There was stuff strictly for the kiddos: crayons, coloring books, bracelets, pinwheels, all manner of fidget spinners. And I entered two drawings--one for a sonic toothbrush and one for a quintet of Guardians' baseball caps.

And the second thing that made this absolutely lovely: it was all FREE. And free to everyone--not just seniors or families with kids or residents of the town/county or people whose insurance goes through University Hospital (if you're in NE Ohio, your doctor is going to be affiliated with either UH or Cleveland Clinic).

Had I thought about it earlier, I would've signed up for the carotid artery screening. I would've also liked a free pulmonary function test (not that I think anything's wrong with my breathing) but although they took walk ups, you had to sign up for a 10 minute slot and all the slots were filled for the time I'd planned to be at the event. The only tests I did was non-fasting blood sugar (perfect) and cholesterol (well within the desirable range but my LDL was, as always, a little higher than they'd like it to be).

It was good to see the crowd there, despite the heavy rains that swept through the area this morning and afternoon (I got lucky; it was dry while I was there). It was good seeing all these people--mostly elderly--being proactive about their health and not being charged a dime to be so.