(INDIANAPOLIS) – The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) will offer health training, birth certificates, free medication disposal bags, educational games and other activities designed to promote healthy habits for Hoosiers during this year’s Indiana State Fair.
Ten ISDH divisions will staff booths in the Exposition Hall for all 17 days of the fair, providing education about tobacco cessation, food safety, disease prevention and ways to prevent infant mortality, among other issues.
“The theme of this year’s state fair is ‘Heroes in the Heartland,’” noted State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “Many of us have heroes in our own lives, and I can’t think of a better way to support those individuals than to promote healthy lifestyles so we can keep them with us for many years to come.”
Educating Hoosiers about the risks of opioids and how to safely dispose of unused medication are key tools in Indiana’s fight against the drug epidemic. To that end, ISDH will provide information about prevention, treatment and recovery and distribute free at-home kits for the safe disposal of unused medications. The safe drug disposal bags are being provided by Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) Indiana through a donation to the Healthy Hoosiers Foundation (HHF).
“While the state is making strides in taking back prescription drugs for proper disposal, there are still thousands of pounds of unused medication in Indiana residents’ homes,” Dr. Box said. “We’re grateful to RALI Indiana for its support to help ensure unused medications aren’t contributing to substance abuse in our state and give Hoosiers a safe way to dispose of these medications in their household trash.”
For more information about RALI, visit www.rali-in.org.
Fairgoers also will be able to play health-themed corn hole and other games, check whether their child is tall enough to transition from a car seat to a booster seat, see demonstrations of the Liv pregnancy mobile application and pick up items such as a MyPlate, a plastic dinner plate that shows recommended portions of different food groups.
During the first two days of the fair, parents will be able to check their child’s immunization record and activate it in MyVaxIndiana. On August 10 and 11, attendees will be able to purchase copies of birth and death certificates from the ISDH Vital Records Division. Individuals should bring a driver’s license or other photo identification and a check for $10 to obtain a certificate on the spot.
Indiana WIC will also be onsite (Aug. 6 and 13) to help Hoosiers who may qualify for the nutritional program.
For health and safety information, visit the ISDH website at www.StateHealth.in.gov and follow us on Twitter at @StateHealthIN and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/isdh1.
