A step toward better health

LIHUE — Queenie Pezario came to get her flu shot Friday at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall.

“This is an annual thing,” Pezario said. “This is better than getting the flu shot in the store. And, on top of that, I found this wiggly thing I can use for exercise.”

Pezario was one of a steady stream of people who took advantage of the ninth annual Health and Wellness Fair in recognition of National Recovery Month at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall.

“When we first started doing the fair, it was held for families of people in recovery from drug addiction and incarceration,” said Theresa Koki of Life’s Choices under the Mayor’s Office. “We provided resources to help them cope while they helped their family members with recovery.”

Over the years, the fair has grown, requiring it to be held at the convention hall.

“Initially, we offered family and child services for those in treatment,” Koki said. “But it evolved to include elderly services, CPR training and first aid, and into a wellness and health fair for people caring about themselves under the seven domains of health.”

Friday’s event included a range of services for people having to manage pain without having to rely so heavily on drugs.

“There are a lot of people who have to deal with pain on a daily basis,” Koki said. “Sometimes, pain management with the use of drugs leads to addiction and people want pain management without having to depend on drugs.”

Nearly 50 vendors offered range of services from smoking cessation to education on health care and fraud prevention to patrons who were eager to learn.

“We come to visit the health fair to get out into the community,” said Barbara Gusman of the Courtyard by Marriott at Coconut Beach. “There are a lot of things we don’t know and by visiting these events, we learn so we can properly direct people who need these services. It benefits everyone.”