COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – As part of National Senior Health and Fitness Day on Wednesday, the Orangeburg Senior Helping Center hosted an event to encourage the community to get active.
The center’s health and fitness fair offered free health screenings like blood pressure checks as well as tests for glucose and HIV.
“People are living longer, and they need more services, even in the midst of all the cuts that are going on,” said Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler. “We need to make sure that PACE is sustained and that these citizens can get all of these services so that they can live longer and have a better quality of life.”
Orangeburg ranks eighth in the nation for Alzheimer’s disease, according to a published by the Alzheimer’s Association. That ranking is also why officials wanted to fill a gap in resources for senior citizens.
“It’s very important because it makes them feel needed and important to be able to do different things that they’re not able to do at home,” said Karen Shieder, a PACE activities coordinator at the Orangeburg Senior Helping Center.
Nearly 110 seniors are served by the center each year, with the facility also serving Bamberg and Calhoun counties.
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