The Hillsborough County Healthy Living Center held an open house on April 16 to show county residents what healthcare advantages are available.
It was held at one of its three branches – the Plant City Community Resource Center. There, visitors were able to take the opportunity to get free health screenings, vaccinations, giveaways, kids’ activities, and more.
After being stalled by COVID-19, it opened back up last July but this is its first open house since the shutdown. However, virtual educational and exercise classes were still offered.
Paulett Davis is the manager for the county’s living center. She assists in providing timely, innovative, and cost-effective delivery of services.
“We’re so happy to be back and able to have our open house again,” Davis said. “We were somewhat delayed because of COVID of course, but we’re able to come back and do these full open-house programs. This is a way to reach out to the community.”
The two other community resource centers are located in Tampa and Ruskin.
The classes and programs it offers are:
• Heart healthy classes
• Diabetes prevention and management program
• Cancer education/prevention classes
• Weight loss programs
• Healthy cooking classes
• Group walking classes
• Quarterly health screenings
Hillsborough County residents as well as members of the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan, are eligible to join the Healthy Living Program and it’s free of charge.
The Feeding Tampa Bay organization has teamed up with the living center in providing food to those in the community who are disadvantaged. Last year, over 95 million meals were served within 10 counties, and 98% of donations go toward its programs.
It also partners with BayCare Health System and the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County. BayCare has 15 hospitals in Florida including South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. It offers primary care such as family, child, and internal medicine. As it relates to specialty care, it hones in on behavioral health, cancer, diabetes, heart and vascular services, maternity, neurosciences, and orthopedics. And there’s also immediate care, imaging and labs, follow-up care, as well as affinity care.
The Florida Department of Health has a host of programs for aging, elderly resources, breast and the cervical cancer early detection program, and more.
Representatives for the Children’s Board Family Resource Center in Plant City were also present. While its name suggests that it caters exclusively to kids, its demographics are much wider.
“We offer services and activities for all ages…arts and craft activities, a movie day, and some type of family activity,” said Juli Day, manager for the children’s resource center. “We also have many partners that bring educational classes for us.”
What’s more, the services are free of cost. Non-insured or Medicaid-insured families are eligible for their kids to receive physicals, immunizations, visual, hearing, and development screenings.
Mobile medical clinics are stationed at resource centers, CPR, and car seat safety classes are also offered. With the latter, class participants will receive a free car seat for their child.
The children’s resource center partners with the Suncoast Community Health Centers which brings a mobile dental clinic on site and offers cleanings and x-rays among other services.
ReDefiners World Languages offers classes to teach English, Mandarin, Spanish, and Arabic.
“We have a wide variety of things, and if we don’t currently have it, we may have it in the future,” Day said. “We have a rotating calendar. They can check out any calendar of any seven centers.”
The Plant City Community Resource Center is located at 307 N. Michigan Ave.
For more information on the resource center, call (813) 752-8700 or visit www.FamilySupportHC.org.
The Children’s Board Family Resource Center in Plant City is located at 301 N. Palmer St.
For more information, on the children’s resource center, call (813) 757-3871 or visit www.HillsboroughCounty.org/en/residents/social-services/health-care-plan.
To receive service, come to the offices with a photo ID or driver’s license.