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Can't miss these at health expo
Two big education vans make their first stop in Inverness Saturday.
By ELENA LESLEY
Published February 23, 2007
INVERNESS - General Electric's sleek health education vans have roamed the nation for more than three years, offering free health screenings and showcasing the latest in medical gadgets. Saturday, the mobile classrooms - two 53-foot trailers - will make their first stop in Inverness. "This is the first time we've had anything like this here; we're very very proud," said Debi Shields, a spokeswoman for Citrus Memorial Health System. "They picked little old Inverness." The hospital has joined in General Electric's "Women's Health and Wellness Tour" to host a health expo Saturday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. The vans, settled in the hospital's parking lot and staffed by CMHS employees, will offer free services such as bone density testing and heart health assessments. They'll be hard to miss. The mammoth trailers could hold several small homes between the two of them, and feature a number of specialized rooms and enclaves. Images of women in track suits - inflated multiple times past normal size - grin out from the sides of the vehicles. General Electric first dreamed up the trailers to advertise new digital mammography equipment manufactured by the company, said Joe Ivey, who is a program manager for the tour. The vision expanded, and the company decided to add services such as blood pressure testing, bone density measuring and glucose monitoring. "I've been everywhere," Ivey said of his time with the tour. "The only places I'm missing are Alaska and Hawaii." Saturday's expo will have various health services in one van, and feature a second van with healthy cooking demonstrations. People also will be able to view the latest advancements in digital mammography and sonograms. Shields said she is expecting 300 to 500 people to attend the event, most of them likely to be women. Women face different health challenges than men do, and problems like heart disease and diabetes can lurk undetected, she said. "I'm so excited about this," Shields said of Saturday's expo. "This is going to be a really really big day." Elena Lesley can be reached at elesley@sptimes.com or 564-3627.
[Last modified February 22, 2007, 22:38:09]
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