A Senior Health and Information fair was held on Saturday in the Superior Elementary School Gym. Mary Jo Berry organized the event and said 25 vendors were on hand to answer questions and promote their businesses and organizations.

Groups including Life Flight, Partners in Home Care, Veterans Center, Healthy Relationships, and the Superior Senior Center. Also, Mineral County deputies were on hand to help dispose of unused prescription drugs.

Berry said four vendors had to cancel at the last minute due to illness. The fair, which is similar to the Mineral Community Hospital Heath Fair held on May 20, focused on senior citizen programs and senior health care. The Superior Senior Citizens were represented and posted their schedule of programs and upcoming activities. Which includes weekly Wednesday dinners at 4:30 p.m., salad luncheons, Friday Pinochle night, Meals on Wheel services, and a foot clinic. Group spokesperson, Nancy Wilson said most of their programs are self-sufficient and they won’t feel very much of an impact if senior programs suffer budget cuts during this legislative session.

Wilson described many of the Senior Center’s programs as she lunched on a bowl of soup provided by Mineral County’s RSVP program. Where Neva Cummings and Hyrel Walsh served up chili and chicken vegetable soup and rolls at a nearby table.

We Care Foundation was another group represented, which offers financial help to Mineral County residents. Last year the group provided over $5,000 for those in need including the purchase of vehicle parts, fuel, food, help with utility bills, and other expenses not covered by other programs.

“We provide services to anyone who needs help and may not have other resources” said the President of We Care, Mary Yarnell.

Nancy Hemphill with the Foster Grandparents Program said they were in need of volunteers. One aspect of the program is seniors visiting local schools and reading to the elementary students.

“But we only have one volunteer right now,” she said, “and that’s here in Superior. We don’t have anyone for St. Regis or Alberton schools.”

Hemphill also commented that RSVP and the Foster Grandparents programs rely on federal funding. If they don’t have enough volunteers, the funding will not be renewed.

Peggy Temple was on-hand to answer questions for both the Mineral County Historical Society, as well as, Relay for Life. She said the Relay for Life program is looking for a new director. She, as well as Berry, were founding members of the group and said new leadership is needed. There are between eight to twelve teams in Mineral County and the organization members host a number of fundraising events. The actual Relay for Life event is held in June. Funds raised support cancer research and help cancer patients.

Healthy Relationships, Mary Furlong had a table and talked about the challenges family services face in Mineral County.

“There’s not enough help,” she said, cited the lack of an Office for Public Assistance, not enough mental health facilities, no transitional housing, and only one crime victim advocate. The advocate position is currently vacant and applications are being accepted.

Furlong said it’s difficult for children and women caught up in domestic abuse to receive help since Mineral County is so rural, coupled with few resources. This is a topic which has been receiving increased attention because of the sharp increase in the number of children in foster care in Montana. Reports indicate that the increase in child abuse and neglect cases parallel a rise in meth cases. In 2016, there were a record number of Montana children in foster care, totaling 3,179. A number more than double that of 2008 according to state reports.

Another unrelated area of concern, which has a bill in this year’s legislation, is the rising cost of air ambulance service. Berry said a resident was recently air-lifted to a Missoula hospital and received a $28,000 bill. The patient did not have insurance. A representative with Life Flight was at the health fair and discussed the need for air ambulance insurance.

“For the price of a tank of gas, you can get an entire year of insurance,” said Nicole Lamoreux. Life Flight is a nonprofit organization and their policy covers all air ambulance expenses. She said it’s covered whether you are in an accident, or need to be transported from one hospital to another.

As the fair came to a close, raffle gifts were announced. Gifts were donated by the vendors and included goodie baskets, gift certificates for massages and the doggy spa in Superior, along with other items. Local author, Parris ja Young also donated his book of poems as a door prize. He had a table at the fair and said he had sold a few copies.

Overall, Berry said she was pleased with the event, “I wish we had more of a turnout, but there were other events in town. Including a basketball tournament, and Little Guy wrestling.”

The next health fair, hosted by the Mineral Community Hospital, will be held on May 20.