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SALT LAKE CITY — Julio and Joelma Vieira, accompanied by their two young children, waited to see a dentist Saturday at the 23rd annual CARE Fair that provides free health screenings for low-income and uninsured Utahns.
"It's very expensive, the dentist, and I'm a student," said Julio Vieira of Murray, who has no insurance from his job as a convenience store clerk and tuition bills to pay for English lessons.
The couple, who are both from Brazil, said their children, Pedro, 7, and Ana, 3, have seen a dentist in the past six months. But they said they put off getting their own teeth checked until Joelma Vieira heard about the fair from a relative.
"Cavities," Joelma Vieira explained as her husband pointed to several troublesome teeth in his mouth, likely, she said, from too many sweets. Before the family left the fair at Horizonte Instruction and Training Center, he also went for a glucose test.
"The point of what we do here is health screening," said Dr. John Houchins, chief of the physicians assistant studies at the University of Utah's medical school's family and preventative medicine department.
Houchins said for families that can't afford to spend money on exams and tests, the annual two-day Community Assistance and Resource Event sponsored by the Junior League of Salt Lake City is an opportunity to spot health problems early.
Instead of waiting until a health issue is so severe it requires a visit to a hospital emergency room, Houchins said problems can be identified and patients referred to additional care with vouchers donated by the Junior League.
He said his medical school students were seeing signs of heart disease, diabetes and other serious health problems with adults, while obesity was an issue with many children.
Most of the patients would qualify for the health care subsidies available under federal Medicaid expansion, Houchins said, but Utah leaders have yet to agree on how to use the funds available under President Barack Obama's health care law.
"As good as this program is, and as committed as I am to it, it's still very limited care," Houchins, a participant since the fair started in 1992, said. "It really acts as a Band-aid. It is not a substitute for Medicaid expansion."
The Junior League's vice president, Vicki Harder, said she expects at least 4,000 people will be helped at this year's fair, which ended Saturday. Harder said the event is part of the organization's commitment to helping women.
"We are here to volunteer and give back to our community around women and children," Harder said, noting many participants are single working mothers "doing the best that they can for their children."
Besides exams and screenings that also included vision, hearing and mental health, the fair offered immunizations and free safety equipment. While the car seats were gone by Saturday morning, there were still bike helmets available.
Two-year-old Blake Hollyhand beamed as he tried on a slightly too-large helmet.
"We were actually planning to give him a bike for his birthday next month," his mother, Elisa Hollyhand of Salt Lake City, said. She said the fair was also a chance for her mother, who has no insurance, to find out what's causing her knee pain.
Alberto Alcazar, 8, of West Valley City, also picked up a bicycle helmet, along with his sister, Yada, 7, and older brother, Omar, 13. Only Omar had ever had a helmet, but his had broken.
"It's pretty cool," Alberto said.
Anyone wishing to take advantage of the CARE Fair should go to the Horizonte Training Center 1234 South Main Street, before 5 p.m. Saturday, when the event closes. More information can be found at www.jlslc.org/?nd=p_care.
