NHCC’S INSTITUTE FOR HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES SPONSORS HEALTH FAIR ON JULY 11 FROM 12PM TO 6 PM IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LI HISPANIC PASTORAL ALLIANCE TO PROVIDE GLAUCOMA SCREENING TO COMBAT LEADING CAUSE OF BLINDNESS

July 9, 2009

Contact:  Shelley Lotenberg
(516) 572-6055
shelley@numc.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NHCC’S INSTITUTE FOR HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES SPONSORS HEALTH FAIR ON JULY 11 FROM 12-6 IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LI HISPANIC PASTORAL ALLIANCE TO PROVIDE GLAUCOMA SCREENING TO COMBAT LEADING CAUSE OF BLINDNESS

East Meadow, NY….The Nassau Heath Care Corporation’s Institute for Healthcare Disparities sponsors Health Fair on July 11 from 12-6 in conjunction with the LI Hispanic Pastoral Alliance to provide glaucoma screening to combat one of the leading causes of blindness.  The LI Hispanic Pastoral Alliance is comprised of a group of 160 Spanish language Evangelical  churches in Nassau and Suffolk.  The event will take place in the parking fields in back of the Freeport Bible Center at 50 North Main Street in Freeport, New York.  Highlights of the event will be glaucoma screening provided through Opthalmic Consultants of Long Island and lectures on healthy Latino foods and childhood obesity, delivered in Spanish by Loreno Drago, CDE, RD of Hispanic Foodways. 

Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation urged Nassau County residents to take advantage of the free glaucoma screening:  “The cause of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness is unknown, but there are several risk factors that increase your risk of developing glaucoma,  These include high eye pressure (called intraocular pressure, or IOP), older age, being African-American or Hispanic, and having a family history of glaucoma.  Anyone with any of these risk factors should get regular eye examinations to look for glaucoma.”

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact OCLI at 1-866-SEE-OCLI (1-888-733-6254) or on their website www.ocli.net.  With glaucoma, better late than never, is not an option.