In the next three days, programs will be available for residents of Marengo and Hale County’s to promote good health.

The programs begin today, when the Marengo County Health Department on Industrial Drive in Linden hosts Public Health Day from 1-4 p.m.

Free health screenings for blood pressure, osteoporosis, cholesterol, height and weight and hemoglobin will be available.

There will also be door prizes and refreshments.

Saturday, Hale County and Gov. Bob Riley’s Black Belt Action Commission will sponsor a free health care fair, which will give them one in all 12 Black Belt counties. The health fair will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Like Public Health Day in Marengo County, health care professionals will be there to offer free medical screenings for cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, vision and other health care needs.

Since the health fairs began, Riley said, they’ve helped a tremendous amount of people.

“These health fairs have been tremendously successful and another great achievement of the Black Belt Action Commission,” Riley said. “Since they started a year ago, more than 3,000 Black Belt residents have attended these health fairs in order to receive free screenings and other health care assistance.”

The health fairs, U.S. Rep. Artur Davis said, were a great way to get medical attention to communities in need.

“These health fairs have been a big part of the success story for the Black Belt Action Commission,” Davis said. “These events allow us to place resources in communities where individual access to health care is inhibited for a number of reasons. I appreciate the work of all the members of this team, and look forward to a successful event in Hale County.”

The members of the Black Belt Action Commission’s Health Committee include doctors, nurses, professors, health professionals, governmental officials, church leaders, representatives from nonprofit organizations, and other citizens who want to make a difference.

Other sponsors of the health fair are Kid One Transport, the Community Care Network, the Alabama Department of Public Health, the UAB Minority Health and Research Center, Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church, Friends of Hale County and Mountain Brook Community Church.

For more information about Saturday’s health fair, log on to www.blackbeltaction.org or call (334) 353-1540 in Montgomery or toll free 1-866-468-2323 outside the area.

For more information on today’s Public Health Day, call (334) 295-4205.