Houston County hosts first Wellness on Wheels health fair offering free screenings

Free health event in Warner Robins focuses on early detection and prevention

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) -Taking care of your health can sometimes fall to the bottom of the list, but in Houston County, one event is making it easier to get checked out.

The Houston County Health Department hosted its first Wellness on Wheels health fair in Warner Robins on Wednesday, offering free services to the community. From blood pressure and hearing screenings to mental wellness checks and cancer screenings, the event focused on making healthcare more accessible.

“We know that healthcare can be hard for people to access,” said Christina Sikes, nurse manager with the Houston County Health Department. “People get busy in their day. Sometimes transportation is a problem, sometimes it can be very expensive, and we want to emphasize the importance of well screenings. So to bring it in a fun, approachable way that’s free seemed to make a lot of sense to us and seemed like something we wanted to do for our community.”

Sikes says events like this help break down barriers that often prevent people from seeing a doctor. She says the focus of the event is early detection and prevention.

“So if we screen ahead and screen for problems ahead of time, then we know we can prevent damage to the body later on or get important testing and treatment early, which makes a big impact on outcomes,” Sikes said.

Organizations like Community Health Works were also on site, working to connect people with resources and support.

“Community Health Works is one of the five regional cancer coalitions in Georgia,” Nadine Cater with Community Health Works said. “What we do is work on cancer in the sense of prevention when possible, and then those that have had a positive screen, we work on diagnostics.”

Sikes says if the event is successful, they plan to make Wellness on Wheels a regular opportunity for the community.