FREE CHILDREN'S HEALTH CARNIVAL WILL BE HOSTED IN JACKSON SUNDAY

JACKSON -- St. Francis Medical Center will sponsor a free Children's Health Carnival Sunday at the St. Francis Information Center at Jackson.

The festivities will run from 1-4 p.m. The center is at 2122 Highway 61 East in Jackson, across from the Wal-Mart store.

"The event is geared for children ranging in age from preschoolers to adolescents," said Kathy Casteel, information center coordinator. She said the carnival will include a variety of health screenings, displays and health-oriented activities.

Among the screenings available will be height, weight and hearing checks for all children and "lazy eye" screenings for preschoolers. Other displays and demonstrations will focus on dental health, fire and home safety, first aid, smoking hazards, bicycle safety, nutrition, poison prevention, drug and alcohol abuse, and conservation awareness.

The carnival, among other activities, will feature a "moon walk," fingerprinting of youngsters by the Jackson Police Department, and a wheelchair obstacle course. The course is designed to give youngsters a better understanding of the difficulties encountered by people confined to wheelchairs.

St. Francis Medical Center employees will sponsor a number of activities, such as a "Fishin' for Nutrition" game that teaches kids the principles of healthy eating; a "surgical dress-up" activity, intended to help lessen any anxieties children might have about surgery; the "Wheel of Misfortune" and "Name that Bone" games, which teach accident prevention; and a "Mr. Yuk" display to help teach poison prevention tips.

Numerous groups and individuals are participating in the Children's Health Carnival. Door prizes are being provided by a number of businesses, individuals, and civic groups.

More details about the carnival are available by calling the St. Francis Information Center at 243-5222 between noon and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.