More than 200 veterans and seniors got crucial health screenings Friday at a health fair in Branch Brook Park, Essex County.
Hosted by Feeding Our Heroes and the Veterans Foundation of America, the health fair featured 14 different types of screenings with health care workers from RWJBarnabas Health (an underwriter of NJ Spotlight News) and Braven Health.
“We’re trying to assess people’s risks for chronic health conditions like stroke, heart disease and diabetes,” said Dr. Ernani Sadural, an OB-GYN with RWJBarnabas Health. “All with the ultimate goal of speaking to some of the root causes that drive these chronic conditions.”
Dr. Sadural also stressed the importance of mental health care for veterans. “I had a gentleman who was in his seventies that told me that now, he’s finally ready to talk about his war experiences,” he said. “[There’s] such a huge need for mental health services among our veterans.”
“We have 300,000 veterans in the state of New Jersey, and roughly 30% are seen by VA health facilities. That’s still a huge number that’s not seen,” said Jeff Cantor, director of product development and partnerships at Braven Salute. “We’re trying to provide those gaps, as well as access to great quality health care.”
The organizers of the health fair said they’re aiming to host 10 more between now and Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
