2017 Wellness Expo features resources for people of all ages

[February 22, 2017]  LINCOLN - At the 2017 Wellness Expo held on Saturday, February 18, 2017 at the Lincoln Park District, those who attended learned about many resources for leading a healthy lifestyle. This year was about being an MVP through Moving and staying active, Valuing healthy eating, and Practicing healthy habits.

The Logan County Department of Public Health offers many different services such as health education; Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program; nursing services, and immunizations. Public health is intended to prevent epidemics and the spread of disease and assure the quality and accessibility of health services.

The SIU Center for Family Medicine, which is a qualified health care center, has joined forces with ALMH and the health department to offer medical, and behavioral healthcare in one clinic. They will begin offering services at the health department in April. At the beginning, SIU School of Medicine physicians will be coming in to offer care, but the center hopes to eventually have a full time physician, physician's assistant, and nurse practitioner
Over 2,500 persons have received dental care in Dental Clinic at the health department, so the need is there. SIU is taking over the dental clinic as well.

Memorial's Weight Loss and Wellness Diabetes services helps people reduce and prevent complications associated with diabetes so they can improve their quality of life. Registered Dietician and Certified Diabetes Counselor Jennifer DiPasquale can you to help learn how to manage diabetes and practice good nutrition.

Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital's Rehabilitation and Therapy Department offers services to help relieve pain and improve strength and endurance. They also have programs such as cardiac rehab, senior fitness, aqua-therapy, and performance plus. Performance plus is for people in sports or with active lifestyles. Tim Heitzig said some use it to improve their golf game.

At the Lincoln Park District's Fitzone, MVP stands for Motivation, Variety, and Proper form. The Lincoln Park District offers fitness classes, sports programs, and personal training to help people maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.

Silver Fox Fitness program helps seniors reduce the effects of diabetes, reduce blood pressure, and regain function after a stroke. Georgia Allison said one lady could not go up the stairs when she began the program and now she can almost run up them.

Children at area schools learn about being active, healthy eating, and healthy habits through the CATCH program. CATCH stands for Coordinated Approach to Children's Health and is designed to help combat childhood obesity. It started out in two area schools and has now expanded to 13 Logan County schools.

Many area resources help people maintain a healthy lifestyle. For many years, Memorial Home Services in Lincoln has provided such resources. They rent and sell medical equipment and products. They also provide home health services so people can stay in their homes longer.

To encourage visitors to stop and see all the exhibits, guests got a goody bag when they entered the building. It included a list of questions to answer as they talked to exhibitors. When all the questions were answered, this sheet could be turned in for a chance to win a door prize.

Throughout the day, both children and adults could be seen asking questions at the various booths and learning about healthy living.

[Angela Reiners]