Highmark Partners for a Healthy Community to provide day of free health and dental services at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center in Erie on Oct. 15

ERIE, Pa., Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and its Partners for a Healthy Community program, will offer free health and dental services at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center in Erie beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. The final appointment will be scheduled at 3 p.m., and walk-ins will be accommodated as the schedule permits. The event is open to individuals who are uninsured or have minimal health and dental coverage.

Highmark will partner with United Concordia Dental, Davis Vision and Visionworks to provide a variety of free health and dental services, including:

• Dental exams, cleanings and fillings
• Vision screenings
• Glucose
• Cholesterol
• Blood pressure
• Diabetes check-up

"At times, children and adults choose to go without medical and dental services during tough economic times, and we anticipate our event will prompt people to take advantage of the free services we will offer," said Charles Gladney, Highmark's director of community programs. "Preventive and corrective care measures are important to one's overall health, and outreach programs like ours help to keep those in need healthy in the communities we serve."

Because many families do not have insurance or have limited funding for care, health care professionals will volunteer their time at the event to ensure participants receive the care they may need.

"Working with our partners, we provide a variety of free dental services – from exams to cleanings, X-rays to oral hygiene instruction," said Julia Mallory, community outreach representative for United Concordia Dental. "We helped provide more than $1 million in free dental services across the nation in 2010 to more than 5,000 children and adults."

Services will be provided at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center at 312 Chestnut St. in Erie. Appointments are encouraged and walk-ins will be accepted. For more information, call 1-814-454-0715. To schedule an appointment, call 1-814-452-4262.

SOURCE Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield