JRMC to host health fair at Expo
If the covid pandemic got you out of the habit of getting regular medical checkups, Thursday is the day to reacquaint yourself with the idea of letting medical professionals look under the hood to see how you’re doing.
That is the day Jefferson Regional Medical Center will be putting on an aggressive health fair during the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo at the Pine Bluff Convention Center from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
“We’re going all out,” said Amber Harvey, manager of corporate education at the hospital. “We want people to walk away with something that will help them in the moment.”
That help will come from a variety of directions with screenings that will test for glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol as well as professional input on strokes, tobacco use, breast cancer, balance and weight.
The screenings do not take the place of actually going to seeing a physician, Harvey said. But the information that people come away with – all noted on a single card – is something they can take to their primary care physician to discuss. If the person doesn’t have a physician, she said, doctors who are taking new patients will be on hand to answer questions.
“This is not a replacement for going to the doctor,” Harvey said. “People will not get the same full workup that they would get in a doctor’s visit. But with the knowledge they will come away with, they can see a physician and be more informed about what they need to discuss. They should be seeing someone regularly whether they’re healthy or not.”
Working at the health screening tables will be nurses, nurse educators and therapists, Harvey said. Some will doing the basic testing, while others will be on hand to educate people about healthy lifestyles
“One of the educational tools we use is to show people the amount of sugar in a single can of soda,” she said, “and how thick your blood gets when you have diabetes. It’s really all about education. Sometimes a minor lifestyle change is all it takes to remedy a situation.”
Also at the health fair will be a representative from the breast cancer center to talk about mammograms and being more aware of breast cancer.
Want to quit using tobacco? A health-care professional will be on hand to discuss that, too.
And if you’ve been worried about your balance, Harvey said a physical therapist will be at the health fair who will analyze your balance, walking gait and posture and offer advice on ways to improve them.
There will also be a new version of the BMI, or body mass index. The updated test is called a BIA, or Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, which, Harvey said, is a more accurate reading of a person’s weight and body makeup.
The hospital is putting more effort into such health fairs, Harvey said, in response to covid. During the two years when covid was in full force, many people were scared to go to the doctor or hospital. Now that covid has ebbed, she said, it’s time to encourage people to resume their healthy practices.
“Now we can get back out,” she said. “Now it’s a lot safer and we can go to the doctor and take better care of ourselves. We need these health screenings. We were recently part of a citywide health screening event. That was a great event, and we are hoping Thursday’s is even better.”