The 17th annual Omaha Women’s Health and Wellness Conference will be held Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 at the La Vista Conference Center, 12520 Westport Parkway.
The theme of the conference, “Let’s Talk: What You Need to Know But Won’t Ask,” is open to the public and will run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The conference will kick off with a continental breakfast and a morning health fair offering over 40 vendors with health screenings and education. The sponsor exhibit hall will feature more than 45 area health and wellness companies and organizations providing demonstrations, massage, consultation and products available for purchase.
Low cost screenings including lipid profile, glucose profile and complete blood count will be available for $17, and a thyroid-stimulating hormone test will be available for $7. Flu shots will be offered for $20.
Registration deadline is Sept. 26. The cost of the conference is $59, which includes breakfast, lunch, lectures and exhibits. Continuing nursing education credit is available for an additional $30.
Keynote speakers are:
- Breakfast keynote – Renaisa Anthony, M.D., M.P.H., “The Wonderwoman’s Guide to Health, Wellness and the Pursuit of Happiness,” will explore the pros and cons of trying to “do it all” and offer strategies to maintain health, wellness and the ultimate pursuit of happiness. She is deputy director of the UNMC Center for Reducing Health Disparities and assistant professor of the UNMC College of Public Health’s Department of Health Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health.
- General session –Ally Dering-Anderson, Pharm.D., during an interactive session, will present “Things to Think About When Talking to Health Care Providers About Drugs.” With humor and real-life experiences, the clinical associate professor at the UNMC College of Pharmacy will highlight communication difficulties patients can face when asking health care providers about prescription drugs and over-the-counter products, vitamins and supplements.
- Closing session – “How Whole-Person Wellness Changed My Life,” Pat Blankenship, member of the UNMC EngAge Wellness Program, will discuss her journey to total health and wellness. She will talk about beginning with small changes that can make a big difference in overall wellness.
Participants will choose from two different afternoon breakout sessions that include topics on: solutions to low sex drive; gluten-free diets and potential benefit for certain diseases; exercise as medicine; menopausal changes and the pros and cons of hormone therapy; various hormones and their role in health and weight control; and ways to maximize and maintain brain fitness.
For a full agenda and more details about the conference, as well as to register, call the UNMC Olson Center for Women’s Health at (402) 559-6345, or log on to http://omahawomenshealthandwellness.org. Conference updates also can be found on the conference’s Facebook page.
This year’s platinum sponsors are Essentials Family Chiropractic & Wellness, Metropolitan Community College and UNMC Physicians. The conference also is sponsored by the UNMC Olson Center for Women’s Health, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, The Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Wellness Council of the Midlands.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.