The Ironton-Lawrence County CAO Family Medical Center celebrated National Community Health Care Center Week with a health fair. The event was held at the Triangle in Chesapeake Saturday.

“It’s our time to shine,” Jamie Casella, health fair coordinator, said, adding that it is a chance for the center to give back to the community.

St. Mary’s Medical Center offered free health screenings. Twenty-six other vendors also participated in the fair.

“There’s so much poverty in our area. A lot of people don’t have money to go to a clinic,” Jessica Thayer, of the CAO, said. “A lot of people are letting their health go. In the long run that’s going to bite them on the bottom because they’re going to have more serious health problems. Maybe we can prevent that.”

The event, in its fifth year, usually draws over a 150 people and includes a 1-mile walk, Cassella said.