Over the next few weeks, kids throughout Santa Barbara County will be returning to the classroom, and on Tuesday, hundreds of people came by the Santa Maria Health Care Center to help prepare for the first day back.
“In a way, this marks the end of the pandemic phase of COVID-19,” said Dana Gamble, Deputy Director of Primary Care for the County of Santa Barbara’s Public Health Department. “Last year, the year before, year before that, we weren’t able to host an event such as this,”
“There are sports physicals, catch-ups on immunizations, but also, we have a lot of community partners that are here to provide services, some giveaways for our families in Santa Barbara County,” added Dr. Mouhanad Hammami, Public Health Director for Santa Barbara County.
Day one of Santa Barbara County’s trio of back-to-school health fairs featured food trucks, free backpack handouts, as well as a spotlight on more than 20 local nonprofit resources.
“A lot of times we have families coming into our shelters, so we want to provide that support. With kids going back to school, it is important to try and stabilize as much as we can what is going on at home. We want to help support that,” said Liliana Garcia, a housing coordinator for Domestic Violence Solutions.
Beverly Pugner brought her family out to the health fair Tuesday. Her granddaughter was in a pinch to complete her immunization requirements.
“In our case, she couldn’t get into her doctor today and she needs the shots today in order to start school, so it is very important,” Pugner said.
But as the past years of COVID-19 restrictions have kept the county from hosting community events like these, Dr. Hammami says their ongoing week of back-to-school resources is a message to let families know help is out there.
“We know that these are challenging times. We know that specifically for families who don’t have the resources. It is important for us to accommodate that,” he said. “This is our mission as the Health Department, but it is also what Santa Barbara County is all about. We are here to serve our residents all across the county.”
If you missed the first back-to-school health fair this week, another one will take place at the Santa Barbara Health Care Center on Wednesday from 4-7 p.m., and in Lompoc at the Lompoc Health Care Center on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Families who are not currently enrolled in insurance are welcome to attend as well.
Admission is free and open to all ages.
