The Colley Senior Complex will host its annual Senior Health and Wellness Expo from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Thursday and all seniors are invited to participate.

Janet Motes, Complex director, said this is the fifth year the Complex has hosted the health and wellness expo and it is always a well-attended event.

“Last year, 400 seniors participated in the health and wellness expo and we hope to have at least that many on Thursday,” Motes said. “This is an opportunity to have a battery of screenings and checks done at absolutely no cost.

“We all realize the importance of catching a health issue on the front side rather than on the backside. It’s much better health wise and less expensive to find a problem early and make an adjustment and stop it than it is to catch it on the other side.”

Nineteen vendors will participate in the Senior Health and Wellness Expo and most of them will be in the health care or health related fields.

“The Expo will include flu shots, glucose screenings, bone density tests, hearing tests, cholesterol screenings, blood sugar tests, blood pressure checks and other simple screenings or checks such as weight and body mass index,” Motes said.

Representatives from health related facilities and agencies including, Nobel Manor, Green Hills Funeral Home, Hospice groups and home health agencies, will also participate.

“The Troy Fire Department will conduct the Expo’s sugar check and the Pike County Sheriff’s Department will be on hand to sign seniors up for the Yellow Dot program,” Motes said.

The Yellow Dot program designed to assist citizens and first responders in the event of an automobile crash or other medical emergency involving the participant’s vehicle.

“The program can help save lives during the critical “golden hour” by improving communication at a time when accident victims may be unable to communicate for themselves,” Motes said.

An added opportunity at the Senior Health and Wellness Expo will be a panel discussion on the special election to determine the source of funds for the Medicaid budget.

The Alabama Medicaid Amendment will be on the Sept. 18, 2012 special election ballot as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment and would authorize the transfer of $145.8 million from an oil and gas trust fund to the state’s general fund for the state’s Medicaid budget.

“The September 18 workshop will be at 11 a.m. and will be very informative,” Motes said. “Steve Flowers will be the moderator and the panel will be made up of members from the hospital, nursing homes and the SGA at Troy University. We have invited those who oppose the amendment to participate but have none at this time.”

Motes said the health and wellness expo will provide valuable health information to the participants and an opportunity to learn more about the Sept. 18 special election.

“Of course, there will be a lot of freebies so those who participate will leave thinking that it’s been Christmas,” she said.

The Colley Senior Complex is located at 715 Elm St. in Troy.

For more information, call 334-808-8500.