Alex Illausky, 4, Lenexa, hides behind his mother, Andrea, as her blood is drawn during Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s health fair Saturday.

While it wasn’t exactly good news, Mechelle Harcar received news that was good to know at Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s Annual Health Fair on Saturday. A glucose test showed she had pre-diabetes.

Harcar, 35, was among the 1,200 people who streamed into the hospital for the yearly fair that offered blood work, free health screenings and educational exhibits.

Saturday wasn’t the first time Harcar, who came all the way from Lenexa, made important discoveries about her health at the fair. One year, she learned she had high cholesterol.

Both conditions can be curbed with lifestyle changes.

“It’s a preventative-type thing,” she said.

Besides being one of the best bargains in town — the blood tests cost between $40 to $50, other screenings were free, and the cafeteria had a host of healthy breakfast snacks — the fair offered one-stop shopping for 14 different screenings, tests and exams.

“It’s convenient that it is all together,” said Harcar, who had several more screenings to visit before leaving the hospital, 325 Maine.

Harcar wasn’t the only who thought it was a good deal. When coordinator Aynsley Anderson arrived at the hospital at 5 a.m., one person was waiting for the bone density screening.

And by 7:20 a.m. — 10 minutes before the fair officially opened — more than 100 people already had their blood work done.

“I always say it is the hospital’s gift to the community,” Anderson said. “We are trying to make sure people take care of their health. It’s not about treating but about preventing — making them aware that there are things they can do to stay healthy.”

Indeed, booths were set up around the hospital that offered tissues and hand sanitizers just in time for flu season, gave out homemade ice cream as an example of the calcium-rich food needed for strong bones and provided loads of brochures on everything from breast cancer to blood clots.

The one-of-a-kind fair has been around for more than 25 years and is a way for the hospital to serve its patients before health conditions deteriorate to the point of hospitalization. In the past, several people have been sent directly from the fair to the emergency room.

“It helps (patients) find it early, so we aren’t going to get into the worst-case scenarios. And that is what we see a lot of,” LMH spokeswomen Belinda Rehmer said.