NBHH Kids Health and Safety Fair coming soon

North Big Horn Hospital will once again host a Kids Health and Safety Fair on the hospital grounds on Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The popular event, which is funded in part by donations, has been held every other year for the past 10 years, attracting hundreds of children and their parents. It is free to the public.

According to organizer Nick Lewis, the health and safety fair will feature more than 30 education booths, with many of the hospital’s departments and other organizations represented. Booths will feature information from a wide range of local organizations like the Lovell Fire Department, North Big Horn Search and Rescue, Big Horn County Prevention Alliance, Wyoming Game and Fish, Big Horn County Public Health, the Oxbow Center for Mental Health and more. Some topics covered include seat belt safety, fitness awareness, mental health, nutrition guidance, dental health and firearm, water and electrical safety.

Career oriented demonstrations will be held, including a demonstration of the hospital’s surgical robot, a hands-on “virtual reality” demonstration by the nursing program at Northwest College and a tour of a Guardian medical helicopter. Other fun activities like a climbing wall, an inflatable obstacle course, supplied by the Bairco company, and a bounce house are sure to be a big hit with the young people attending. Lewis added that members of the Kefar Shrine Club will be on site in their “turtle cars” providing some fun photo opportunities for attendees.

“We are so pleased to have 36 organizations involved this year, with some from as far away as Cheyenne and Billings,” said Lewis.

Hot dogs, hamburgers, pop and chips will be available for purchase at the event.

Lewis said the event was originally geared toward adults but over time has evolved into an education event geared toward educating both children and their parents about health and safety topics relevant to their overall well-being. 

“Originally we were doing a health fair for adults, taking blood, then coming back in a few weeks to find out what we’ve being doing to our bodies over the years,” explained Lewis. “We decided to do something more proactive for young people, so maybe when they reach our age, they won’t get a bad report.”

He added that written materials will be available for parents to take home to study in more detail.

“The written materials are for the parents to help reinforce what they learned that day, while the flash-bang stuff is for the kids,” said Lewis. “Several booths will be interactive. The nursing program at Northwest College is bringing the (virtual reality) goggles out so the kids can see what it’s like to do things like give an IV, and Dr. Hill is bringing the robot out and I think they’ll get to play with that, too. So, in addition to health and safety stuff, there’s going to be some activities that emphasize careers.”

Attendees will have the opportunity to win prizes through their participation. This year’s prizes include a trampoline, swimming pool, kayak, portable basketball stand, electric scooter, paddle board and many more items.

For more information about the events or to donate, contact Lewis at North Big Horn Hospital at 548-5200.