Dr. Cathy Funk speaks about how to recognize when memory loss is a cause for concern, in the Hope Center gym at the Asbury United Methodist Church Community Health Fair on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Asbury United Methodist Church Community Health Fair was held for the second year-in-a-row on Saturday.

The fair, which was held at Asbury United Methodist Church, served as an avenue for medical professionals to share health-related information and provide reduce-cost wellness screenings for local residents, as well as for organizations that address social issues to connect with those in need of their help.

“We’re trying to encourage people to be proactive with their health — not to wait until they are ill to seek out ways to improve their health,” said Pam Roberts, who served as health fair organizational committee co-chair with fellow church member Charles Cranford. “We’re trying to make our community as healthy as possible, through providing this event for them to participate in every year.”

She gave the credit for the event’s establishment to the church’s pastor, Rev. Derek Shackelford, who began encouraging the church to increase its community outreach, after coming to the church in 2023.

According to WVU Medicine Health Promotions Coordinator Dana Dejarnett, the health fair has proven to be an excellent opportunity for connecting with the community.

Asbury United Methodist Church members check in attendees of the community health fair on Saturday morning. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“It enables us to reach a different population. It’s a diverse group of people who are drawn to this event,” said WVU Medicine Health Promotions Coordinator Dana Dejarnett.

She expressed her appreciation for the church being willing to organize an event that enables those without health insurance or with a high health insurance deductible, to receive life-saving help. WVU Medicine provided everything from lunch cancer screenings to Comprehensive Metabolic Panel screenings to Hemoglobin A1C screenings for diabetes to blood pressure screenings at the fair.

“Last year, there was a couple who had a high deductible with the insurance they had through their employer. Because of that, they had delayed getting bloodwork done. They got bloodwork done here and found out that they both had Type 2 Diabetes and needed to be on medication,” Dejarnett said. “It’s really nice to be able to participate in an event like this, where you can interact with the public and see that you are making a difference.”

Cancer Institute Regional Cancer Center Senior Nurse Director of Outpatient Oncology and Infusion Sam Spearing wholeheartedly agreed with her.

“We’re providing various cancer screenings here, as well as information about all forms of cancer screening prevention and detection,” Spearing said. “We have some of the highest lung cancer rates in the country, so we obviously want to make sure we are giving smokers the opportunity to screen and be treated early, because that’s when it’s most treatable. That is the case for all forms of cancer, which makes it all the more crucial for people to go to events like this, when they cannot afford to otherwise have these cancer screenings done.”

Asbury United Methodist Church Community Health Fair attendees look at the event schedule and listen to one of the special speakers at the entrance to the Hope Center gym on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston