CAMDEN — Camden Comeback hosted its second Homerun for Health Fair, Saturday, April 22, at The Dover in Camden. The event provides an opportunity for Camden residents to meet directly with health care professionals to learn more about the importance of health, as well as educating attendees on what healthcare providers are near to their community.

“This is our second annual Homerun for Health Fair,” said Camden Comeback Partnership Chair, Carla Risner.

“I think it’s good for Camden because there are a lot of residents here who are not able to travel far or might only be able to get a ride locally. They might not get the information that they need as far as check-ups that you need to have every year, vaccinations you should stay up on, blood pressure checks,”

Risner continued, “Here, they are able to see all this information that kind of goes under the radar. So, if we can have one area and one date where everyone can come and get that information, I think that a lot of lives can be saved.”

Risner, who is an Orthopedic Surgical First Assistant at Fort Hamilton Hospital and Sports Medicine Family Practitioner in the Village of Camden, spoke highly of the importance of the event. “The Health Fair is really important to me because I’m in the health care business, so I think all of the information we can get out to the community just helps them.”

Among the many organizations represented at the fair was the Community Blood Center Donor Van, who according to Risner, had already received 26 donations.

Communications Chair for Camden Comeback, Debbie Mason, remarked that her father had sadly fallen ill, and was given an extra six months of life due to blood donations. “He had blood infusions or platelet infusions, or both, once or twice every week, for over six months. To be honest, I had given blood years and years ago, but after having learned how important it is, especially for people who have a rare blood type – If people hadn’t donated blood, we would have lost him as soon as we found out he was sick,” she said.

“It didn’t save him, in the end, we had six more months with him, and six months to try and fix what the problem was. It didn’t save his life, but I got six more months with him,” Mason said. “Now, I’ve started donating blood, my family has, we understand the importance of it.”

Jeff Steele, owner of The Dover and sitting member of the Camden Village Council, noted the event brings knowledge to the community for the importance of healthcare.

“I think it helps bring in some awareness on the different groups they can reach out to, through Preble County, through their local businesses,” he said. Steele noted the event was free of charge to both attendees and Camden Comeback.

“For The Dover, this is just another day for us. We bought this building with alternative health in mind. The goal was to keep it more medical, if possible. We were excited to get Ryan Agee Law in here, the first attorney to have an actual office in Camden in probably thirty or forty years. We also have MedShip here, and we hope when they move out that there is another chapter, and we’ll bring someone else in, go from there and see where it takes us,” Steele stated.

Steele and Risner estimated nearly 200 community members attended the 2023 health fair.

As the Partnership Chair for Camden Comeback, Risner expressed a hope to expand the success of the organization’s outreach in the future. “My goal and plan for moving forward is to create partnerships with different organizations in Eaton, Oxford and Camden and make a united front to help all of our communities.”

Organizations attending the 2023 Homerun for Health Fair were Camden and Somers Township Fire and EMS, Camden Medical Building, Camden Village Pharmacy, CareSource, Community Blood Center Donor Van, Joe Conrad Insurance, 1st Choice Hypnotics, Gebhart Counseling, Gloyeske Acupuncture Pointe, HIT Foundation (Home is the Foundation), Krista Migliore – Kettering Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Kettering Health Network, LifeCenter, McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital – TriHealth, McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital Foundation, MedShip, Mercy Breast Care, NECCO, Novo Nordisk, OptionCare, Preble County Council on Aging and Senior Center, Preble County Job and Family Services, Preble County Mental Health and Recovery, Preble County Special Olympics, Reid Health, Simon Insurance, Sprowls Orthodontics, Serenity Farm and Wellness Center, VIE-Ability – Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the YWCA.

Food vendors attending were Frontline Coffee and Tipsy Hog.

Sponsors for the event included Bravada Counseling, Camden Medical Center, Camden Pharmacy, Camden and Somers Township Fire and EMS, Joe Conrad Insurance, Gloyeske Acupuncture Pointe, Gloyeske Family Chiropractic, Kettering Health, Krista Migliore – Kettering Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, MedShip, McCullough Hyde Hospital – Tri Health, McCullough Hyde Foundation, NECCO, Novo Nordisk, Option Care, Reid Health, Sprowls Orthodontics, Serenity Farm and Wellness Center – Danielle Kazee.

Camden Comeback’s next event will be the Business Appreciation Day, held Saturday, May 20, at the corner of Main and Central in the village, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Reach Nathan Hoskins at 937-683-4057.