COAL GROVE — Building healthier families and healthier communities — those are the goals of a walk sponsored by The Lawrence County-Ironton Community Action Organization medical centers this weekend.

The inaugural “Fun Walk for Healthy Communities” will begin at the CAO Kemp Family Medical Center in Coal Grove at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Walkers will proceed through the sections of Woodland Cemetery. There will be a number of different activities during and after the walk at the center, including displays by local organizations, prizes, giveaways and face painting.

Although the event is designed to be fun, there is also an important message behind it, said Dr. Sue Adams, a physician at the Kemp Family Medical Center.

She said encouraging healthy lifestyles and increased awareness of diabetes and diabetes management is vital.

“We have such a large population of diabetic patients,” Adams said. “And many times they simply do not have the tools they need to manage it. There are medications and other things that they need, it can be a very overwhelming disease.”

Beth Williams, a medical office clerk with Adams, said diabetes is an important issue that the CAO medical clinics are very concerned about.

She said the centers’ employees are always looking for new ways to motivate their patients to give up that extra can of soda or get off the couch and take a walk — both of which can help manage diabetes.

The doctor said the walk is just one of the center’s outreach programs. She said the CAO is trying to strengthen its ties with the community through educational events such as Saturday’s.

“It’s really a way to make people in the community aware of what we offer and to showcase what other local businesses and organizations have to offer,” Willis said. “We want to let them know that we have a full range of services.”