Latest update February 6th, 2025 7:27 AM
Community Health Care hosts successful seniors’ health fair
President of the Guyana Cancer Foundation, Bibi Hassan (right) with other representatives sits ready to sensitize the public on breast cancer
A senior health fair sponsored by Community Health Care (CHC) attracted scores of seniors seeking health information, services and screening.
The event which was held in the Courtyard Mall, Robb Street, Georgetown on Saturday was in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health.
The Community Health Care Agency (CHC) has taken up the task of caring for Guyana’s senior citizens. It has been doing so exemplary for the past two years.
CHC was founded by Abbigale Loncke; it offers care-giving services for the elderly.
Its caregivers provide personal care, companionship, housekeeping, medication reminders, meal preparation and if requested live in care for the elderly.
All packages are designed with the patients’ needs in mind to make them feel happy in their golden years. The caregivers work 24/7 to foster good days and even good moments for patients living with this incurable disease.
There were several exhibitors, including booths which offered attendees services such as blood pressure testing, blood sugar and HIV testing, breast cancer screening, Pap smear among others.
There were also advisories on chronic diseases and how senior citizens can keep their surrounding clean so as to reduce the spread of diseases.
Counseling services were also offered to persons suffering from depression; cancer survivors and persons battling the disease.
Loncke said that she and her team will be spending the remainder of the year looking at initiatives to give back to senior citizens.
She added that the event is the first of its kind for the company.
“We are going to be partnering with the Ministry of Health for other fairs and other health initiatives, not just in Georgetown but also in Berbice and Essequibo. We are going to be expanding the services that we offer.
“We are going to be providing day care services to the elderly and a meal on wheel programme where we are going to be providing meals for the elderly,” she disclosed.
The event was also open to young people. A group of young women showed interest in a booth hosted by the Guyana Cancer Foundation (GCF). They were guided on how to examine their breasts at home to detect strange lumps so as to find the disease at an early stage.
President of the Guyana Cancer Foundation, Bibi Hassan, stated that the organization is always ready to bring awareness to breast cancer.
She disclosed that the organization has screened over 400 women since it commenced its free Pap smear initiative in January. According to Hassan, the GCF became an affiliate member of the Cancer Epigenetic Society, an international organization that undertakes cancer research, last week.
The GCF is located on the ground floor of the St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital, Parade Street, Georgetown.
Representatives from Pro Care Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services offered free massages to the elderly in particular those who were suffering from aches about the body.
Candace Wickham, the director of the company, explained that it also offers speech and language therapy, physical and occupational therapy.
“I was so happy to see many seniors. And most of them were interested in the services we have to offer,” Wickham related.
Since its existence, CHC has been caring for patients with dementia.
Dementia is a general term used for a decline in mental ability which is severe enough to interfere with daily life and is marked by memory disorders, personality changes and impaired reasoning.
Geanna Pearson, a representative from CHC, said, “It is safe to say most of our clients are at one of these stages. Working with a Dementia patient is very difficult because coupled with the frustration that they are losing or have lost their independence, the patient is usually agitated that they have become a burden to their families, and so tend to live in denial of their illness.”
Pearson said that caring for someone with Dementia starts with empathy and compassion since they are prone to becoming confused about their whereabouts, and even the period of time in which they are living.
She explained that CHC caregivers show the utmost understanding and compassion with bringing care to the elderly and are trained to handle the bouts of depression, the outburst of anger, the tears and the sadness that they no longer walk down the stairs of bather themselves.
Plans are in place to have CHC established in Grenada.
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