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lanning/Coordinating Committee
Organize a planning committee of six to eight people. Members of this committee will
provide leadership and coordination for subcommittees. They can also identify key
people for subcommittees.
Try to have a representative from the following groups on the planning
committee:
• Health professionals: physicians, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, optometrists,
nurse practitioners, physicians assistants
• Health agencies: hospitals, home health agencies, clinics, nursing homes, retirement
centers, emergency medical services
• Schools
• Churches
• Local employers
• Local media
• Other members of your target audience
A broad-based community planning committee will provide:
• widespread support and better attendance;
• ideas that better meet unique needs of community people;
• selection of time and place least likely to conflict with other community activities;
• more people to share the work;
• more media promotion and attention; and
• safe, reliable screening practices with referrals and explanations for abnormal results.
Duties
• Identify the target audience – Montana baby boomers.
• Identify best ways to reach the target audience. Should entertainment and games be a
part of the health fair? Should the health fair be only activity oriented? Should
screenings and immunizations be offered?
• Develop a theme, like “Managing Your Health for Life” or “Spring into Health.”
• Develop a timeline.
• Create a schedule for the health fair, including opening and closing times, lunch,
dinner, etc.
• Select a date.
• Identify subcommittees and possible members.
• Set and manage the budget, considering:
o Publicity and promotion costs;
o Equipment and table, chair, audiovisual, etc., rentals;
o Decorations;
o Refreshments and lunches for participants, volunteers, and people in booths;
o Permits and insurance requirements;
o Printing;
o Mailing, including promotional and follow-up; and
o Screening costs.
• Give subcommittees their allocation.
• Set policies for budget management and reimbursement of expenses.
o Identify the person responsible for writing and signing checks.
o How will deposits for equipment, tables, etc. be handled?
o How will records of expenditures be maintained?
o What are the policies regarding handling cash?
o If there is a petty cash fund, who will maintain and authorize withdrawals?
o What is the deadline for submission of bills after the fair is done?
• Identify possible locations for the subcommittee to consider, or make the selection if
the site is already known for some reason.
• Identify potential donors, sponsors, and vendors.
• Coordinate contact of all donors, sponsors, vendors, and booth participants.
• Provide oversight and coordination for subcommittees. For example, make sure that
booths and services are appropriate for a health fair, and avoid booths by groups that
present health messages that are not research-based; also, make sure committees stay
within budget.
• Assist with management of the health fair, and make sure that one or more
management people are available the day of the fair to “put out the inevitable fires,”
welcome participants, assist with sign in sheets, etc.
Clinical Subcommittee
Health professionals on the clinical subcommittee can help determine what is
appropriate to include in a health fair for the target audience. Not all brochures,
giveaways, or topics should be included. For example, giving away toys and games
would not be appropriate for a health fair targeting baby boomers.
Screening for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, etc. may be planned if
appropriate for the target audience. Screenings are much more useful to people than a
health risk appraisal.
If screenings are provided, the clinical subcommittee must help in determining
appropriateness for the audience, finding appropriate providers, making sure
universal precautions are followed, results are accurate, and participants are
properly informed about results and provided with follow-up suggestions.
Provisions must be made for situations when someone’s blood pressure or blood
sugar is found to be dangerously high during the health fair—where can that
person go for immediate help?
For these and many other reasons, having a clinical subcommittee is critical for a
health fair.
Duties
• Identify key health topics and booths for the target audience.
• Determine the kinds of screenings/services for the target audience, such as,
o blood cholesterol (total, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides)
o blood glucose
o blood pressure
o skin cancer
o lung capacity
o vision screening
o glaucoma screening
o hearing tests
o foot
• Plan and arrange for booths from agencies, such as the American Heart Association,
American Cancer Society, Arthritis Foundation, the Montana Department of Public
Health and Human Services, etc.
• Plan and arrange for types of clinical staff, laboratory services, mammogram van or
transportation to the location for mammograms such as a local hospital for clinic.
• Plan for meeting universal precautions regarding drawing and handling blood, etc.
• Plan for delivery of results to the participants.
• Plan and arrange for treatment referrals for participants with abnormal results, both
immediately and longer term (for example, if someone has a very high blood glucose
or blood pressure, where can they be seen immediately?).
• Define and review the kinds of health information, brochures, and giveaways
appropriate for the target audience (for example, no small objects for young children
or free drug samples, etc.).
• Plan and arrange for “Ask a Doctor,” “Ask a Nurse,” “Ask a Podiatrist,” “Ask a
Pharmacist,” etc. booths.
• Plan for equipment needs, such as blood pressure cuffs including average adult’s and
obese adult’s (the wrong sized cuff will give wrong results).
• Plan for first aid needs during the health fair.
• Provide information on actual costs for clinical services, such as the lab work
provided to facilitate interpretation of the value of the health fair to the community.
• Plan to protect confidentiality of participants regarding results.
o Results only must be given to the individual participant.
o No sign-up sheets identifying participants’ blood pressure, lab results, etc.
o Results may never be delivered to the employer at a worksite or to an insurance
company.
o If height and weight are done, for example, it must be done so no one can even
accidentally be made aware of someone else’s results—this is true for children as well
as adults (Note: Determine BMI and explain meaning of results. To calculate BMI, go
to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s calculator
at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/. Another option for adults might be helping
them calculate their waist-to-hip ratio).
Administrative Committee
Depending on the size of the health fair, this committee might have to be broken into
smaller committees. For example, the facilities committee might be in charge of
finding an appropriate place, developing a floor plan and map, and decorating.
Another committee might be needed to take care of food, while an additional
committee might be in charge of procuring door prizes, entertainment, decorations,
games, and incentives. Another committee might take care of the clerical duties, such
