Press Release

NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERS COMBINE FORCES TO HOLD HEALTHY LIVING FAIR

Los Angeles, CA, October 20, 2007 – Poverty and and the stress it produces wreaks havoc on the health of low-income Los Angelenos.  Chronic issues such as obesity, asthma, and diabetes flood emergency rooms with uninsured patients.  A group of strong community partners is combining their efforts to improve the health of its neighbors at the Healthy Living Community Fair, to be held on Saturday, October 20 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the parking lot of the Vons on the corner of Third and Vermont.

This is the first year of the Healthy Living Community Fair, sponsored by the QueensCare Family Clinics, Bresee Foundation and Vons Corporation.  It will feature: Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Healthy Kids enrollment; blood pressure screening and sugar testing; games and activities, and raffles for prizes.  Kids will get to meet the staff of the E.N.E.R.G.Y. project, which uses fun exercise and nutrition activities to prevent childhood obesity.  Fair attendees will be invited to tour the nearby colorful QueensCare Bresee clinic as well. Council President Eric Garcetti fully supports the fair and will have representation present.

The idea for a fair developed when QueensCare Family Clinic and Bresee Foundation—a faith-based nonprofit community center—brainstormed ways to promote healthcare for kids and adults in the Koreatown-Downtown area.  Bresee partners with QueensCare Family Clinics to operate a primary health clinic within its community center.

"With specialists in pediatrics and family medicine who speak Spanish, we are right here in the community to serve the health and social needs of children, teens, adults and families," said clinic pediatrician, Dr. Robert Vinetz.

QueensCare offers numerous other resources to improve health outcomes for its high-risk community, including a network of clinics offering primary and pediatric healthcare for insured and non-insured patients, a youth weight-loss program (E.N.E.R.G.Y), and a health screening program that aims to prevent and detect high risk health problems, such as diabetes and cancer.  QueensCare and Bresee decided that the best way to reach the community would be to have a celebration that educates residents on the available health resources.  Vons, located across the street, came on board to host the fair on its grounds.  The corporation has consistently and generously donated its resources to support the community center, most recently through a $20,000 grant for after-school nutrition and exercise workshops that prevent childhood obesity. 

The central Los Angeles neighborhood served by Bresee and QueensCare is in urgent need of supports such as the Healthy Living Community Fair.  QueensCare Family Clinics has determined that there are over 312,000 children and youth (0-18 years) in its service sector (which includes Bresee Community Center) and over 107,000 are at-risk for obesity or are obese. In urban Los Angeles, it is estimated that over 14% of school-age children have asthma. This is a higher than average rate for the country. Additionally, the rate of asthma related emergency room visits and hospitalizations is significantly higher in Los Angeles than many other areas of the nation. In QueensCare’s immediate service area, it is estimated that over 37,000 children are likely to have either diagnosed or undiagnosed asthma. Furthermore, in QFC’s pediatric clinic population of 7,100, it is likely that almost 800 have asthma.

Bresee Community Center, a faith-based nonprofit, has been offering comprehensive services to residents of central Los Angeles for 25 years. The nearly 15,000 square-foot community center is primarily populated by residents living in the central Los Angeles neighborhoods of Mid Wilshire, Koreatown, Pico-Union, Silver Lake and south Hollywood.  The center includes a youth recreation center, two computer centers, two learning labs, and the health clinic.