BAPS Charities Health Fair In Toronto

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Toronto: Recognizing the need to promote early detection and prevention to support the wellness of communities, BAPS Charities organized the 7th annual community Health Fair on October 14, 2012 at the BAPS Swaminarayan Complex in Toronto.

Offering a range of services and information, the health fair saw more than 60 volunteer healthcare professionals in attendance including physicians, pharmacists, dentists and nurses. Specialties in children’s health, senior’s health and many other fields were on hand and provided personal consultations to visitors.

“The physicians provided me with individual care, attention and guidance,” said Ami Patel, a health fair participant. “I learned how to change my diet to maintain my cholesterol level and also how to teach my children the basics of living a healthy lifestyle.”

All participants had their blood pressure, blood sugar level and body mass index measured. “The dangers of undetected high blood pressure can be fatal,” said Shirish Shah, a healthcare professional who volunteered at the fair. “In the spirit of the saying, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure’, BAPS Charities is educating individuals about potential risk factors and prevention methods to improve their quality of life.”

In addition to the consultations for adults, special sessions for children were held to teach them about proper hygiene and healthy living habits. “Dedicated volunteers, local physicians, health care professionals and community organizations such as the Ontario Dental Association, the Alzheimer’s Association, Sick Kids Foundation, William Osler Health System, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, South Asian Diabetes Association and Patanjali Yogpeeth contributed toward making this event a success; we truly appreciate their help,” said Kishan Patel, a BAPS Charities event organizer. “With their support BAPS Charities provided this service to over 400 members of the community.”

The Health Fair ended with an informative health lecture entitled “Stigma, Stress and Spirituality”, presented by Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani who commented that this is the first initiative of its kind to educate the Indo-Canadian community about mental health. Several special guests attended the health lecture held at the BAPS Swaminarayan Complex, including Scott McLeod, CEO of the Central West Local Health Integration Network.

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