RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — The annual Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo is underway in Rapid City. At this year’s event, Monument Health is hosting a health summit, offering free screenings and raising awareness for preventative health.

From free screenings to children’s activities, the Health Summit here at the Stock Show has it all.

“This is an extremely important event, to our area and it’s also a great opportunity for us to get in front of a lot of our rural neighbors and help them and talk to them and find out what they’re facing in their own communities,” Anna Whetham, Community Relations Specialist, said.

Each year, the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over. That’s why Monument Health believes it’s a great place to raise awareness for preventative health.

“The biggest piece of this, is we want to meet people where they are at. Everyone is busy, we have a lot going on but we also know how important preventative health is to our community and so for us to be able to come out and meet with people and talk about those important things, we are hoping we can get a lot of good work done,” Whetham said.

“Preventative care is something a lot of us take for granted. We usually go in when we have something wrong with us but really you should be going to the doctor on a regular basis and seeking a primary care provider,” Stephanie Battell, Director of Nursing, said.

Not only will these nurses check visitors’ health, but they will inform people about specific health issues and how to prevent them.

“And we have lots of tool kits that you can take with you and pamphlets to take. We also provide on the spot education about if you do have high readings, what does that mean, what are your risk factors for diabetes and where to seek help for any mental illnesses that you may be screening for,” Battell said.

Each day, the nurses at the health summit give anywhere from 100 to 200 screenings. The booth will be up and running through the rest of the Stock Show. It’s hours are 10 AM to 2 PM during the week and 10 AM to 4 PM on the weekends.