A cold, wet morning curbed turnout at Fort Loudoun Medical Center's health fair Tuesday morning, but it didn't keep everyone away.

Residents from Lenoir City, Tellico Village and even Knoxville came to First Baptist Church of Lenoir City to take advantage of free and discounted health services at the local Covenant Health Check event.

Many residents came to have blood work done at heavily discounted prices. Others came for the convenience of a comprehensive checkup at one location.

As a self-employed Lenoir City resident, Stephanie Hodnett said visits to the doctor can be pricey. She made her rounds to the booths that applied to her health needs. She wanted a more in-depth checkup than her regular physical.

"I do have supplemental insurance, but that's only if something happens. That's not for preventative care, so for preventative care, something like this is really beneficial for people who don't have insurance or who have supplement type things," Hodnett, who owns Kidstruction Learning Center, said. She estimated lab work can cost a minimum of $200 at her doctor's office.

Delores Duff took advantage of every booth, saying she believes keeping her health in check is key.
"It catches things before it takes their life. ... I called my niece and told my brother-in-law and sister-in-law about it," Duff said.

"I go every year. I go to my physician regularly too, but that's just once a year unless I have to go for a reason. This I can keep checked, especially the thyroid to see if I need to do anything else about it," Greenback resident Thelma Cooper said.

Tellico Village residents Dan and Carole Conrad make visiting a Covenant Health Check fair a yearly ritual. They came to have their blood work done, complete health screenings and to soak up health tips.

"It's cheaper than the doctor, even though my insurance pays for the other," Dan Conrad said.

Knoxville residents Herc and Cathy Lourenco agree visiting the health fair is all about the discounted services. With insurance that "doesn't pay for a lot of stuff," Cathy said the health fair saves a couple hundred dollars. The couple thinks health care is overpriced for the American household.

"You know it doesn't have to be because obviously you can get blood tests here for $20 a test. ... People should have access to inexpensive medical care. It doesn't have to cost that much, but there's all kinds of things built into the way we live here in America with insurance and lawsuits and all these things that add all this wasted cost into the system," Cathy said. "That's frustrating because you should be able to get medical care for very little. It cost money, obviously, and people need to have jobs and get paid but it's not right."

Hodnett hopes the health fair is offered more often in the community and that a few more services will be added.

"Probably some vision, hearing. Those kinds of things. When you go to the doctor you look at the eye chart. You can take it a step further than that. There is equipment that can really check your eyes, and I'm not sure if those eye charts are the most accurate way to check your vision," Hodnett said.

FLMC marketing coordinator Ashley Hankla said she believed residents turned out not only for the discounted and free services, but the convenience of having a variety of services in one location.

Free blood pressure, body composition, carotid artery and other free screenings were available. Discounted blood work included a blood chemistry profile, complete blood count and checks for prostate specific antigen, thyroid stimulating hormone, high sensitivity C-reactive protein and hemoglobin.

Hankla said she hopes the health fair exposes residences to the services offered at the local hospital.

"We have everything here. There is no reason why anybody should drive to Knoxville or the surrounding communities for what we are offering," Hankla said.

It was the first time Hodnett has visited the health fair, but she has plans to come again.

"I turned 40 this year in June so I felt like I needed to start paying attention to this kind of thing, and I have a house full of children who need me around, so I need to pay attention to my health," Hodnett said.