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Hawaiian Gardens and Moskowitz Foundation’s First Annual Safety Fair

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PUBLIC SAFETY: Sal Flores, at podium, Consultant to Dr. and Mrs. Moskowitz and the Moskowitz Foundation, readies the stage for officials who spoke and demonstrated good public safety habits. Photo by Tammye McDuff.

 

By Tammye McDuff

The City of Hawaiian Gardens partnered with The Bingo Club to host the first Annual Safety Expo on Saturday, March 14, 2015, sponsored by The Moskowitz Foundation.  The expo was held in the parking lot of The Bingo Club from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center (GR) was on site all day with booths and nurses for tests ranging from blood pressure to cholesterol.

Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity. The Bariatric Center of Excellence at Gardens Regional is one of the most experienced surgical weight loss programs in Southern California and is pleased to have numerous leading bariatric surgeons on staff. Due to the outstanding medical staff which includes Board Certified and Fellowship Trained Surgeons, GR is proud to be one of the first hospitals in Southern California to be designated as a Center of Excellence.

GR also tested for bone density and glucose levels. The local Fire Department and EMT services gave CPR demonstrations, while giving attendees basic instruction on what to do in an emergency situation.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department was on site with vehicles that children and adults could inspect.  The Fire Department also brought their very special Hanna-Barbera “Shakey Quakey” vehicle for school aged children.

These trailer-mounted simulators are designed to look and feel like a schoolhouse inside, with real desks and a chalkboard. Each trailer is outfitted with nine child-sized seats, one adult seat and one wheelchair accessible seat. Once participants enter the trailer, they watch a short video featuring beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yogi Bear, who is voiced by actor Dan Akroyd.

Yogi and his friends guide the kids through an exercise where they see, feel and react to the sensations of a virtual earthquake, including shaking, falling objects and sounds, the simulation has the same effect of a 6.2 earthquake.

Each segment is approximately three minutes in length. Afterwards, participants receive an official Yogi Bear earthquake preparedness booklet to take home.

The Celebration Christian Center located in Hawaiian Gardens participated by demonstrating their newly established Faith Responders information and classes.  Pastor Hank Trimble commented that the desire to prepare their congregation and the community came from many residents inability to handle a crisis. “We are certified volunteers and our main purpose is to get the word out that disaster preparedness is necessary, but not hard to do. We prepare attendees by giving them information on what they need and how to store it properly.”

Sal Flores, the Moskowitz Foundation’s local Director of Public Affairs said, “We want to get all those within our Community together, to inform, instruct and understand what is necessary when and if a disaster strikes.”

The Irving Moskowitz Foundation is a charitable, non-profit foundation established by Doctor and Mrs. Cherna Moskowitz in 1968 and is dedicated to improving and enriching the lives of people based on the precept, “he who has saved one life, it is as if he has saved the world.