The Junior League of Salt Lake City's free health clinic is scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
The event, now in its 20th year, provides free medical screenings and resource referrals at Horizonte Instruction and Training Center, 1234 Main St. in Salt Lake City. The event is open to the public.
The fair will take place on Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Available services will include immunizations and developmental screenings for children, physicals and dental exams for all ages, fluoride and sealants for children, ear and eye tests. Diabetes, cancer, cholesterol and depression screenings will also be offered. Car seats and bike helmets will be given away.
The percentage of uninsured Utahns has continued to grow in the two decades since the Community Assistance and Resource Event (CARE) Fair began with the goal of reaching low-income and underinsured Utahns. New data from the Utah Department of Health show that 368,200 Utah adults, or 21.5 percent, were uninsured as of 2010, a 49 percent increase from the prior estimate of 247,100.
Attendance at the fair spiked to 3,200 in 2010, but it dropped to 2,800 people last year. University of Utah School of Medicine students make up the bulk of volunteers. However, translators, particularly Spanish speakers, are urgently needed.
Speakers of French, Swahili, Chinese and German are also sought.
Junior League President Jennifer Clark expects that the upcoming health insurance mandate will affect future attendance, though it won't make the need for health care assistance disappear.
"There is still going to be a huge amount of people who won't be able to afford insurance," she said.
Want to go to the fair or volunteer?
O For more information, go to http://www.jlslc.org or call 801-355-1868. Volunteers, particularly Spanish translators, are needed. Translators of French, Swahili, Chinese and German are also requested.
