MEDICAL BUILDING Screenings give money's worth

The county medical society has provided information at the fair for more than a half-century.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
CANFIELD -- Attending the Canfield Fair can be a big medical bargain, as well as a lot of fun.
Fair patrons can easily get back their price of admission -- $6 for adults -- by taking advantage of the plethora of free screenings, goods and information provided by members of the Mahoning County Medical Society, Youngstown State University, and various social-service organizations and government agencies.
This is the 52nd consecutive year for the combined Mahoning County Medical Society's medical-health exhibit at the fair's Medical Health Building.
The Canfield Fair is one of the few county fairs in the country to have a permanent health and medical building, said Dr. Jay Osborne, chairman of the medical society's fair committee.
"We are pleased to provide health and medical information and services from over 40 organizations," he said.
What's available
Blood screenings and vision screenings for amblyopia and glaucoma are among the free medical examinations available in the more than 30 booths in the medical building this year.
One of the most popular booths is staffed by volunteer dentists and their staff from the Corydon Palmer Dental Society, who fit children with sports mouth guards, a process that takes about 15 minutes. In the past, about 1,000 children a year have received mouth guards.
In the Youngstown State University tent, Dr. Joan L. Boyd, a public-health professor, and Dr. Ralph J. Rothenberg, on staff at Forum Health, will supervise volunteer health professionals giving bone-density screenings used to detect the disease osteoporosis.
The free test, which costs about $40 in a physician's office, involves sending ultrasound waves through the heel to estimate bone density and determine if osteoporosis is a problem.
Dr. Boyd said more than 1,100 people were screened during the 2001 fair. She urged both men and women to be tested, because both are at risk for osteoporosis. Testing hours are 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tests will not be available Monday, Labor Day.