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The 2010 version of the HMG Health & Fitness Expo is planned for Saturday and Sunday, April 10 and 11, at the Convocation Center on the Arkansas State University campus. Hands down, it’s the biggest health awareness event in the region.
“This marks the third consecutive year that the physicians who are members of Healthcare Medical Group (HMG) have given back to Northeast Arkansas by assembling an event that focuses on health and fitness,” says Dr. William C. Young, Jonesboro otolaryngologist who serves as president of Healthcare Medical Group.
“We started this Expo as a way to let residents of the area know what Jonesboro has to offer in healthcare and fitness, and the public response has been amazing.“We have made some changes in the 2010 Expo that we think will make it even bigger and better than the first two, with our HMG physicians working hard to make this the premiere health and fitness event in the Mid-South. We have partnered with St. Bernards to provide free health screenings, and some of our own physicians also are performing screenings at no charge. In addition, our doctors and other healthcare providers are taking part in educational presentations – panel discussions and seminars – that will cover topics of interest both days,” he continues.
“This HMG Health & Fitness Expo is a massive undertaking, and it’s all pulled together to encourage area residents to educate themselves about their health and what it takes to get healthy and stay that way. It’s our way of giving back, of making this a better place to live.“We hope to see an even larger public turnout this year.”
Over the two-day period, physicians and vendors of health and fitness services will be assembled under one roof. Area residents can take advantage of free health screenings offered by St. Bernards Medical Center as well as screenings offered by HMG physicians at individual clinic booths on Saturday. They can attend a variety of panel discussions and seminars. They can get information on hundreds of health and fitness services available in Jonesboro. And they can even visit with HMG physicians at their booths.
The doors will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 10. Hours are 8 to 4 April 10 and 1 to 5 April 11.
The kick-off event – the Associated Radiologists Family Fit 5K Race/Walk – will begin at 8 a.m. April 10, with runners and walkers assembling on Alumni Boulevard near the Blue Entrance to the Convocation Center. Participants will complete the timed event as they cross the finish line on the Convocation Center floor.
Another event planned as part of Expo is the Arkansas Ride for the Cure, a recreational bicycle ride designed for beginner through serious cyclists, with proceeds to benefit the Arkansas Affiliate Susan G. Komen for the Cure. That ride is to begin at 9:30 a.m. and also will start on Alumni Boulevard near the Blue Entrance of the Convocation Center. This year’s ride honoree, Vicky Perry Walden of Paragould, will signal the start of the ride. Planners expect about 200 cyclists to take part in the Ride for the Cure, with some choosing to follow a 10-mile route, while others will tackle 20- or 50-mile routes while raising money for Komen.
As soon as the doors open Saturday, area residents can take advantage of free St. Bernards health screenings that include cholesterol, anemia, glucose, blood pressure and some prostate specific antigens (PSAs). In addition, HMG member physicians will offer foot, skin, vision, hearing, memory and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) screenings. Take-home colorectal cancer screening kits also will be available, and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) screenings will be done as well. Screenings will be done on Saturday only.
Something new at this year’s Expo will be onsite screening mammograms in the St. Bernards Mobile Women’s Health Unit. Women interested in mammograms should come to the Women’s Area inside the Convocation Center to register. OBGYN Associates and McClurkan Clinic for Women will perform clinical breast exams for women who quality for mammograms. To qualify, women must be 40 years of age or older, be uninsured, be asymptomatic (have no breast problems) and must not have had a mammogram in the last 12 months. Mammograms are being funded through a grant from the Arkansas Affiliate Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
More than 200 vendors set up on the floor and on the mezzanine levels of the Convocation Center will have information on wide ranging health and fitness services available locally. Special areas will include a healthy cooking kitchen, where Saturday demonstrations will be conducted on preparing food that’s both good and good for you. A kids’ area will offer lots of fun activities for youngsters. And a fitness assessment screening area will have trainers on hand to help you get started on an exercise program.
Both a Kids’ Stage and an Athletic Stage will be set up, with performers providing entertainment throughout the two-day Expo. Performers will include students involved in Foundation of Arts programs, fitness programs, cheerleading programs, cloggers and other dance students and more. Stages also will be used to present awards for the Kids’ Run and the 5K.
Special physician-led panels will discuss heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The first will be Saturday morning at 10 and will feature Dr. John D. McKee, cardiologist at Cardiology Associates, and Dr. Ron Smith Jr., cardiovascular surgeon with Heart Surgery Associates of Arkansas. It will be held in the Auditorium at the Convocation Center.
The second panel discussion is planned for 2 p.m. in the Auditorium and will focus on diabetes. Panelists will include two HMG physicians – Dr. William Hurst with First Care and Dr. Alyssa Wenger with Vision Care Center – registered dietitian and diabetic educator Emily Smith with the St. Bernards Diabetes Management Center; and Andy Holder, a national speaker from the Iron Andy Foundation.
Sunday afternoon at 2, a six-physician panel will discuss cancer care. Those on the panel will include Dr. John K. Lynch, radiation oncologist with Cancer Care Specialists; Dr. John C. Cook, surgeon with Jonesboro Surgical Associates; Dr. Ben J. Cranfill, urologist with Medical Plaza Urology Associates; and Clopton Clinic physicians Dr. Don Howard, pulmonary medicine specialist; DR. Mazen Khalil, oncologist; and Dr. Donovan R. Stockdale, gastroenterologist. That session also will be held in the Auditorium.
Special seminars planned for Saturday include Dementia and Memory Loss by Dr. Cristina Rosca, geriatrician with the St. Bernards Senior Health Clinic, 9 a.m., Auditorium; and Strokes and the Geriatric Population, Dr. Scott Kapulskey, geriatrician with the St. Bernards Senior Health Clinic, 11:30 a.m., Auditorium.
Other Saturday seminars will include Women’s Health and da Vinci Surgical Options, Dr. Steven L. Emerson of OBGYN Associates, 9 a.m., Hames Room; The Preventable Cancer – Colon Cancer, Dr. Mike Sifford, gastroenterologist with Clopton Clinic, 11:30 a.m., Hames Room; and Total Joint Care, Dr. Claiborne L. Moseley, orthopedic surgeon with Arkansas Orthopedics, 12:30 p.m., Hames Room; and Smoking and Lung Disease, Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Clopton Clinic pulmonary medicine physician, 3 p.m., Hames Room.
Another unique feature of Expo is that HMG physicians volunteer their time … along with staff from Therapy Providers, the firm which with St. Bernards contracts for rehabilitative services … to conduct free physical exams for student athletes from five Jonesboro school districts – Jonesboro, Nettleton, Valley View, Westside and Ridgefield Christian School. St. Bernards Sports Medicine works with coaches in the five schools to be sure their athletes take advantage of the free physicals. This year, HMG and Cardiology Associates will perform electrocardiograms on all the athletes who wll be in ninth through twelfth grades for the 2010-2011 school year as a way to determine overall health of the youngsters.
Diamond sponsors of Expo include Otolaryngology and Facial Surgery Centre and St. Bernards Healthcare. Platinum sponsors are Absolute Care Management, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, Insurance Network, Lammico, Liberty Bank and Ramsey, Krug, Farrell & Lensing. Gold sponsors are First Care Clinics, The Jonesboro Sun, Medtronic, St. Bernards Healthcare Associated Regional Providers, Soo’s Drugstore and Vision Care Center.
Silver sponsors include BancorpSouth, Barrett & Deacon Attorneys, Bennett’s Nursery, City of Jonesboro Advertising and Promotion Commission, Clopton Clinic, E.C. Barton and Co., HealthSouth, Integrity First Bank, Jonesboro City Water & Light, Jonesboro Prosthetic & Orthotic Lab, Kroger, Medic One, Michael Annison, Pepsi Americas, Physician Sales and Services, Pruitt Promotions, Rainwater & Cox, Ritter Communications, Sanofi Aventis, Shinaberry’s Compounding and Retail Pharmacy, Simmons First Bank, Sleep Number Mattress, Sound Concepts, TCBY and TRUE Visionary Marketing.
The weekend-long HMG Health & Fitness Expo has something for everyone and promises to heighten awareness about health and wellness while showcasing services and programs available here.
Additional information can be found on the HMG web site at www.hmg.md.