Back to School fair checks out children

The Junior League of St. Petersburg holds the event to help kids get required medical attention before school starts.

By MAUREEN BYRNE

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 13, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Without any health insurance, Manuel and Lisbeth Gonzalez weren't sure how their young son would get his shots and physical before the first day of school.

Thanks to the Junior League of St. Petersburg and local doctors and hospitals, 5-year-old Manuel is all set to begin kindergarten at Skyview Elementary in Pinellas Park. The Gonzalezes, who emigrated from Venezuela, joined hundreds of other families at the fourth annual Back to School Care Fair Saturday at John Hopkins Middle School. The daylong event offered free medical exams, immunizations and bookbags to the first 3,000 children.

"It's a good help because right now the income is not so high," said Gonzalez, 36, who attends St. Petersburg Junior College and delivers pizza for a living. "This helps a lot."

Jan Herzik, president of the Junior League, said the fair is one of the non-profit organization's biggest projects of the year. "Our goal is to help improve the community where there are needs," she said. "And this is one of them."

Last year, 2,500 youths received backpacks and 800 children registered for checkups and immunizations at the event.

Inside the school's gymnasium Saturday, Dr. Mike Brown, a pediatrician and faculty member at Bayfront Medical Center, volunteered as medical director of the makeshift clinic. Children ages 5-17 waited in lines to see a doctor in one of 20 exam rooms. Crying kids could be heard inside one of the locker rooms, where Pinellas County Health Department employees gave children shots.

Dr. Jason Harrah, a resident at Bayfront, was one of 20 doctors who volunteered at the school fair. Among his patients was young Manuel, who received a thumbs up from Harrah.

"They even checked my ears," Manuel said. "I liked the doctor."

Some of the families who attended the school fair are new to the area and don't have a doctor yet. Kelly Hanna, who last month moved to Seminole from Fredericksburg, Va., brought her 6-year-old son to the middle school so he could get his shots before starting school on Aug. 23.

"This is great," said Hanna, 23, who works as a telemarketer but doesn't have any insurance. "The lines are long. We've been here forever, but you can only expect that."

The event wasn't all about needles and stethoscopes. Kids decorated $5 bike helmets and played at an arts and crafts table. Parents picked up brochures and free goodies from about 25 community organizations.

And some families, like the Douglases, came to the fair just for the free bookbags, which contained notebooks, folders, pens, pencils, a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. "This is nice," said Deidre Douglas of Largo, who brought her two children to the back-to-school event. "For people who can't afford medical services, this is great."

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