Carney Hospital paired up with the Vietnamese Health Collaborative Saturday to bring a Health, Wellness, and Job Fair to the people of Dorchester.

The event, which was held in the main lobby of the Carney Hospital, was free to the public.
“It’s just a general community health, education, wellness event,” Carney Hospital’s Vice President of Marketing and Communication Bill Howland said. “We’ve got some free screenings—blood pressure, blood glucose testing, and then education—diabetes, food safety.”

A job fair was also held in the cafeteria, where six different organizations hired across a range of different positions.

“I know Carney, we have several dozen jobs open,” Howland said.

Other organizations hiring included Kit Clark Senior Services, Kindred HealthCare and Seasons Hospice.
“It’s definitely health care focused,” Howland said.

While the Carney has held similar events in the past, this was a first for the Vietnamese Health Collaborative, which is a coalition of different organizations around Dorchester.

Leonilde Miranda of Fuller Street came to the fair in search of a job, and was pleased the event was being held within walking distance of her house.

“We have different types of people with different health issues, and the hospitals. I mean this is the only hospital centralized here in Dorchester,” Miranda said. “Everything else, you have to travel to. The closest one is BMC, so it’s great to have something close by.”

The health and wellness portion of the fair also impressed Miranda.

“It’s a good way to help people that are not sure about certain diseases or certain programs, to be exposed to programs such as diabetes and senior care.”

Howland said the focus of Saturday’s event was to promote awareness around Dorchester.

“I think what we want to do is make people in the community aware of the resources here in Dorchester,” Howland said. “And whether it’s healthcare, support services, social services, so I think that’s a key goal of ours.”