Love Your Heart: Health Fair Focuses on Learning & Fun
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on Thursday, February 15, 2018
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General
Your heart. With each beat, it sends life-sustaining blood through your vessels to every cell in your body. It’s working for you each moment. In turn, give a few minutes to learn more about how to keep your heart healthy. The “Love Your Heart” health fair on Wednesday, Feb. 28, focuses on good heart health for all ages.
“Love Your Heart” health fair will be held at Spencer High School in the school’s new concourse area, sponsored by Avera Medical Group Spencer and Spencer Hospital. The afternoon schedule will feature opportunities for various SHS classes to visit the health fair. Then, from 4 – 6 PM, members of the public are encouraged to stop out at the free health fair to visit the various heart health stations and to journey through the Mega Heart, a giant, inflatable heart designed for educational purposes and on loan from the Avera Heart Hospital.
“We are excited to bring the Mega Heart to our area. Last year we learned of the opportunity to borrow the Mega Heart and it has come together nicely to partner with Spencer Hospital and the school system to create an educational event during February’s Heart Month.” commented Nate McCormick, clinic manager for Avera Medical Group Spencer.
Susan Zulk, marketing spokesperson at Spencer Hospital, added: “The Mega Heart is a fun educational tool. We’re looking forward to having people of all ages come and walk through it on a guided tour and learn more about heart health. We’re also delighted that we’ll be able to offer a number of interactive heart health stations in addition to the Mega Heart.”
Healthy heart educational stations include the following:
Mega Heart Journey - Take a guided tour through Avera's Mega Heart to visualize a healthy heart and where health issues can arise.
Healthy Nutrition Choices – featuring a “Healthy Choices” display, information on sugar content of popular beverages, recipe options, a healthy snack and opportunity to visit with a registered dietitian.
Hands-Only CPR Demonstrations – learn from a certified instructor on how to perform hands-only CPR effectively.
Blood Pressure Check – What’s your blood pressure and what do those numbers mean? Healthcare professionals will help you better understand your blood pressure.
Heart Listening Station – Equipped with stethoscopes, attendees will be able to listen to their heart rhythms and ask nurses.
Focus on Fitness – Cardiac fitness is important to keep your heart healthy and to improve your health if you’ve had a heart incident. Jason Trierweiler, director for Athletic Enhancement and Cardiac Rehab, will focus on fitness with guests at this station.
Heart Screening Options – Learn the various screening options for checking out your heart health prior to experiencing symptoms of a health concern.
“Our afternoon with the high school students will be structured to allow them to visit each station,” Zulk said. “The community portion of the fair from 4 – 6 pm is a come-and-go event. Come and take your time visiting the various stations or simply pop in for a few minutes to see what it’s all about. Many thanks to Spencer High School for partnering with us to bring this valuable health education to not only students, but to the community too during Heart Health Month.”