Cheryl McCauley is thankful for the work Mercy Health does in her community. She particularly enjoys taking part in the community health fairs donors make possible with their gifts.

“I take blood pressure medicine, and I assume when you take the pills that everything’s going fine,” she says. “But you don’t know for sure unless you visit the doctor frequently. If you go to health fairs, you can find out whether you need to see your doctor or if you’re okay.”

Thanks to donor generosity, people like Cheryl and others living in less populated areas can have better access to care.

“These health fairs are important in rural areas,” she says. “It may not be such a big thing in the cities, but health care out here is different. We have good care, but people get booked up. So, you may have to go to the emergency room – which is 45 minutes away in any direction. It’s crucial for places that don’t have a lot of health care options to have things like this to head off problems before they become a crisis for people.”

Cheryl is grateful for the health fairs, and hope they continue in the future.

“I appreciate organizations that send people to give out information, so you know what’s going on in the community or the surrounding areas,” she says.

“The screenings provide important information and are useful for a lot of people. I’m very thankful to have quality care that comes to us. It’s wonderful.”