FEATURE
THE KENTUCKY STATE FAIR IS Whatever You Want it to Be .
Aaron Burch
A
state fair is a catch-all . Where else can you ride a Ferris wheel , shop for hours , pet farm animals and enjoy nationally known musicians or , if you prefer , an “ Elvis Extravaganza ?”
It has a reputation for being a little grungy to be sure , but the Kentucky State Fair is where you can let your hair down and get lost in the crowds of people at food stands , mildly threatening amusement park rides , and vendor after vendor of knick-knacks .
However , as a mecca of the rural community , a state fair holds certain responsibilities . For every giant plate of pulled pork , there should be a place to have your blood pressure checked . For every day of standing in the sun in the Tilt-A-Whirl line , there should be a place for people to have their skin examined . And in our state , there are .
While the pathways towards gluttony at the fair are many , we have built a section in the midst of the gigantic expo center where people can go and learn more about their own health . There are many selfless people volunteering every day of the 11-day event to help others who may be less fortunate .
More than 600,000 people attended the fair this year , a 40,000-person uptick from 2016 ( the great weather helped ). Yet on Friday , August 25 , the ‘ Health Horizons ’ area was fairly quiet . There was a constant din of conversation to be sure , and the garbled microphone vocals of a talent contest going on a few thousand feet away kept the silence at bay . The volunteers at each human services booth looked a little bored . To break the ice I asked them , “ How busy have you been ?”
Kentucky Lion ’ s Eye Foundation member John Horton said it had been a little slow this year for their vision testing but , just two booths down , Tommy Huelsman with the UofL mobile mammogram and prostate screening unit said that numbers were up . No one had statistics on site except the skin cancer screening booth whose volunteers estimated they had seen 1,500 visitors so far , and that was early on the ninth day of the event - not too shabby !
Of course , the more people who utilize these services , the better , and there could always be more . Six hundred thousand people had the opportunity to improve their own health and wellbeing over those 11 days . For those in rural America , a visit to the state fair and a chance walk past the ‘ Health Horizons ’ area could catch early signs of skin or breast cancer , or a thyroid anomaly , or confirm a long-suspected loss of hearing or vision . That opportunity remains noteworthy .
As a curious customer who can count on one hand his number of visits to the state fair , I decided to give some of these tests a shot . When a kind volunteer at the Advanced ENT thyroid screening booth asked me if I wanted to get the check up , I figured ‘ Why not ?’ My mom found nodules in her thyroid and had them removed just a few years prior . Since then , she ’ s encouraged me to get mine checked , and I always put it off . What better way to find out than a free test right in front of me ?
In just a few minutes , I was given a clean bill of health by the nurse tech . She encouraged me to be consistent in testing in the future though since it so directly ran in my family .
From there , a short 50 paces led to the Heuser Hearing Institute ’ s booth . There , at a kiosk , I had the opportunity to test my ears . I ’ ve been going to concerts since age 11 without protection , mostly because I didn ’ t know any better , so this was of particular interest . Surprisingly , my ears aren ’ t as bad as they could be , but there were clear signs of hearing loss ( good , if disheartening , to know ).
I skipped vision testing because I ’ ve been wearing glasses since age 12 . The prostate cancer screening was skipped as well , because I ’ m not ready for you to know me so intimately . Lastly , the skin cancer screening area received my full attention as I was just recently on the receiving end of one of the worst sunburns of my life .
Dermatologist and GLMS member Tim Brown , MD , was on hand that afternoon , and in great spirits as he moved from one fair attendee to the next . The line moved quickly and soon it was my turn to enter the patient booth . After checking my shoulders and giving me good news , we talked for a while about the Fair itself .
“ We ’ re very lucky to have professionals in town who give their time . I believe this is one of the largest cancer screenings in the nation , and the whole area has quite an impact . Just today I think I ’ ve seen over 50 people ,” Dr . Brown said . “ You can have your prostate screening or mammogram done , eyes , hearing , you name it , all
10 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE