Event will feature 35 service providers

By Sam Richards

Staff writer

(Wednesday, Oct. 26): A number of Rossmoor events are making their way back after being waylaid by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the upcoming Rossmoor Health Fair a prime example.

And for Penny Reed, it’s none too soon.

“The (COVID) shutdown hit on many fronts; people have been isolated, aren’t connecting, not always able to know what health services are out there for them,” said Reed, manager of Rossmoor Counseling Services, which is hosting the health fair, the first such event in Rossmoor since November 2019. It will be held Thursday, Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Event Center.

“Health agencies have had to change the ways they do some things” because of the pandemic, Reed said. “And we’re still evolving as the pandemic is moving along.”

The health fair allows residents to meet service providers – 35 of them, almost all nonprofits – available to them within Rossmoor and Contra Costa County. The November 2019 Health Fair featured 38 providers, Reed said, so the event is coming back essentially at full strength.

“We can only fit so many (providers) in the Event Center,” said Reed, and almost all of them offer services free to Rossmoor residents and others.

The health fair, Reed said, allows Counseling Services to help fulfill one of its main missions – to connect Rossmoor residents to various health-related services both within the gates and beyond them.

“It’s important that seniors be made aware of services that are available at no cost,” Reed said.

Among the providers expected to be on hand Nov. 3 are An Elderly Wish Foundation, its mission being to grant wishes to individuals 50 years or older with a serious or chronic illness; Jewish Family Community Services, which provides personalized aging consultation and assessment to seniors and their families; and Choice in Aging, which provides information on senior advocacy and fundraisers for senior services.

Representatives of CareLink Pharmacy, an independently owned and operated pharmacy in Walnut Creek, will be available throughout the three hours to provide free blood pressure checks, blood glucose checks and flu shots. The flu vaccines can only be provided for non-Kaiser Medicare recipients.

Rossmoor Counseling encourages those wishing to get shots to register with its office at 1-925-988-7750 and receive a time slot for the day of the health fair. Some walk-in time slots will be available, but vaccinations cannot be guaranteed for those who do not register. Those seeking a flu vaccine should bring their non-Kaiser Medicare card and photo ID.

Sponsoring the health fair this year are two assisted-living providers, Atria Walnut Creek and Sunrise Senior Living, which will provide breakfast and lunch items throughout the event.

Fleta Herb, senior community sales director for Atria, said that company had taken part in several previous Rossmoor health fairs. These events, Herb said, are a good opportunity for Rossmoor residents to learn more about assisted living, which they may not need today but may tomorrow – “a successful next step,” she said.

While some providers at the health fair may be doing some catch-up on available techniques or technology, Herb said her company’s service remains fairly constant over time, but people and their personal situations don’t.

“Mainly, we want to reach more people, people new to Rossmoor or whose physical condition may have changed, their own (condition) or their spouse’s,” Herb said.

The Rossmoor Health Fair is free, and attendees do not have to register unless they want to get a flu shot. Anyone with questions can call the Counseling Office at 1-925-988-7750. All Contra Costa Health Services’ guidelines related to COVID-19 will be observed on Nov. 3.