UAMS-Sponsored Senior Expo Draws More Than 1,100
Jones Eye Institute staff provided 74 vision screenings for free at the Senior Expo.
| Oct. 26, 2015 | While the Arkansas State Fair was winding down Oct. 17, another, different kind of fair, the Senior Expo, was ramping up with prizes, informational booths, health screenings, exercise demonstrations and vendor booths.
More than 1,100 seniors from throughout Arkansas attended the second annual Senior Expo, sponsored by UAMS and presented by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The event was held at the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock.
Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D., center, speaks during a panel discussion at the expo.
Of those 1,100 seniors, 300 received free health screenings for blood glucose, blood pressure and heart rate, body mass index and body fat percentage as well as medication and vaccination education.
The UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging provided geriatricians to give free consultations at 42 scheduled appointments at the “Ask the Doctor” booths. UAMS Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute staff performed 74 vision screenings.
Seniors demonstrate Tai Chi exercises for an audience at the expo.
About 1,000 seniors attended last year’s first Senior Expo in Little Rock.
“Attendance and participation at the first Expo demonstrated there was interest in an event like this,” said Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph. D., director of the Institute on Aging. “This Expo proves there is a sustained need for it. UAMS was not on the sidelines watching. Both faculty and staff were involved in presentations, panel discussions and health screenings. Many medical, nursing, and pharmacy faculty, and graduate students and research assistants worked hard getting ready for this event.”
Among the UAMS services represented at the Expo with booths were geriatricians, orthopaedics, caregiver training, the vascular center and nutrition services.
UAMS-led panel discussions included: “3 Ways to Combat Frailty: Food, Fun & Fitness” with Wei and Arny Ferrando, Ph. D.; “Hips and Knees: How to Stay Active as You Age” with Simon Mears, M.D., Ph.D., and Gayle Quattlebaum, P.T.; and “Caregiving and You: Tips and Tools,” with Sandra Lubin, R.N., M.A. and fitness coordinator Kellie Coleman. Sheery Woods led a Tai Chi demonstration.