Jose Espinoza doesn’t want to get sick this flu season. So on a chilly Sunday afternoon Espinoza was one of about 500 people who attended this year’s Bi-National Health Week Health and Wellness Fair held at Clinic Olé.

Espinoza and several others got a flu shot on Sunday, administered by Napa County Department of Public Health. “This is a good event,” Espinoza said. “I want to prevent influenza.”

As part of his overall health checkup, volunteers also checked Espinoza’s cholesterol levels and tested him for diabetes, he said. On Sunday, the clinic provided 250 health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, mental health, vision and hearing, glaucoma, anemia and osteoporosis.

Contrary to its name, Bi-National Health Week is a series of events that take place throughout the year that are designed to give access to health care to anyone who can’t afford it.

Sunday’s Health and Wellness Fair was Bi-National Health Week’s flagship event, providing not only the flu shots and health screenings but also serving as a way to introduce a large number of nonprofit agencies to members of the public.

“Our goal is to provide access to health care in a culturally sensitive manner,” said Catalina Chavez-Tapia, Bi-National Health Week organizer who is also a community services coordinator at Queen of the Valley Medical Center. “To serve not necessarily Latinos, but the community.”

For five years now, Chavez-Tapia and her fellow organizers have brought Bi-National Health Week activities to Napa in collaboration with Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Clinic Olé, Kaiser Permanente Hospital and St. Helena Hospital. The events are also held in conjunction with the Secretariats of Health and Foreign Affairs of Mexico and the Foreign Affairs Ministries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Chavez-Tapia said that Bi-National Health Week was designed to address several initiatives this year including addictions, living green, stroke prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention and nutrition.

New to this year’s fair was a children’s component, comprised of First 5 California, Children’s Health Initiative, ParentsCAN, Queen of the Valley Mobile Dental Clinic as well Clinic Olé pediatricians that provided health screenings for youngsters.

On hand to please the crowd were entertainers including Napa Valley Taiko drummers, Ohtzli Yolilitzli Aztec Dance troupe, and Zumba and Hawaiian dancers.

Bi-National Health Week in Napa resumes on Nov. 22 with a citizenship fair to be held in American Canyon.