Senior health and wellness expo attracts large numbers

Published 11:00 pm Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Colley Senior Complex’s annual Senior Health and Wellness Expo on Thursday was once again a great success.

The numbers were down slightly from last year but Janet Motes, complex director, said that was understandable.

Jo Harris had a blood pressure check and made an A+ on her “report” card.

“Medicare is requiring all recipients to be recertified so many of our seniors have recently had their health screenings done by their personal physicians,” Motes said. “We had 225 seniors to register and we didn’t catch them all. We were pleased that so many seniors took advantage of this opportunity.”

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Jo Harris said that she had recently had her annual health screenings done but attended the Expo to have her blood pressure checked.

“I had several other screenings down while I was here,” Harris said. “It’s always a good idea to keep a check on things. I got an A+ on my ‘report’ card so I guess that I’m as healthy as a horse.”

Gerald Threadgill said, too, that he was there to take advantage of the free screenings.

“It only takes a few minutes to get these checks and it’s a cost savings,” he said. “I appreciate the Colley Senior Complex providing this opportunity and I’m sure all of the others do, too.”

The health screenings included 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.

“Flu season is just around the corner so most of those who participated took the flu shot,” Motes said.

An added feature of the Health and Wellness Expo was a workshop on the September 18 referendum led by Steve Flowers, Alabama political columnist.

“There’s a lot of interest in the ‘Keep Alabama Working’ amendment so the workshop was full,” Motes said. “People want to know about the amendment and what it will mean to them personally before they go to the polls and vote on Tuesday. Steve Flowers did a good job of explaining the amendment in layman’s terms. I think those who attended the workshop left knowing how they want to vote and why.”

Motes expressed appreciation to the vendors for their participation and to those who attended in an effort to stay healthy and well.