JOHN DAY – For some people the annual Grant County Health Fair is such an important event that even vacation plans and a new baby in the family couldn’t keep them away.

Grant Union High School’s gym was the place to be last Friday for the 15th annual health fair. Booths and tables filled the gym with a wide variety of services, agencies and vendors to choose from for people seeking health information and screenings.

A range of medical procedures were available from waiting technicians and staff, including vision screenings, height and weight measurements, massage therapy, blood draws, blood pressure, booster shots, chiropractic medicine and dental health. Acupuncture, which seemed to be a popular item, was new this year.

New to the lineup of vendors was Go Chi Juice, which joined others such as Maxivision and Rapid Eye Technology to provide information about healthy products. Airlife of Oregon, TOPS and AARP were among the many organizations represented.

Bob Pugh, health and safety officer for Malheur National Forest, said that the numbers seemed to be the same or down slightly from last year. He said that there had been somewhat of a surge earlier in the morning, and then a steady stream of people after that.

According to Health Fair Committee member Chris Yriarte, most people have figured out there’s no real advantage to coming in early, unless they had to fast for blood work or needed to get to work after the fair. She said that may be the reason the flow of attendees has been steadier the past couple of years.

At least one couple delayed their vacation to be able to attend the health fair. Debbie and Robert Westbrook of John Day have taken advantage of the fair the past few years, making it an annual priority after finding out about all the services available under one roof – not to mention the reasonable cost, Debbie said. After the fair, they headed off to Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park, having packed up their good health, too.

Even new fatherhood didn’t keep podiatrist Dr. Michael Rushton away. With assistant Kathy Taylor, Rushton was on hand with to provide services as scheduled, despite having just become a father – for the eighth time – about 36 hours prior. Rushton, whose main office is in Baker City, also serves patients twice monthly at Blue Mountain Hospital.

Organizers said residents can expect the health fair to continue as an annual event.

Yriarte said that the very first health fair, put on by Malheur National Forest, was in 1993. The next year MNF partnered up with the Grant County Health Department and Blue Mountain Hospital to organize the event.

She said that to simplify things, the fair is now always going to be held the third Friday in June. She added that it’s a “great thing we can do for the whole community.”