AMERICUS — More than 200 men attended Phoebe Sumter’s seventh annual Men’s Health Conference, which was held recently at the Student Success Center on the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University.
This year’s theme was “You’ve Got The Power: Your Power Tools for a Healthy Living”, as participants were given information and ways on how they could take control of their own health and be productive members of their family and society as a whole.
Participants were offered a number of health screenings, such as blood pressure, BMI and glucose and cholesterol in addition to diabetes, and there were a number of vendors on hand as well.
A formal welcome was extended by Brandi Lunneborg, CEO, Phoebe Sumter Medical Center. Next up was local Orthopedic Surgeon John Fennessy, MD, who talked about “Weekend Warriors” and ways men can stay healthy while exercising and other activities.  He was followed by Meg Goodin, PSMC Registered Dietitian, who spoke about ways you can eat healthy while watching your favorite sport the day of the game. The participants were then treated to a powerful testimony of former smokers. Two cancer survivors from Voice Masters of Atlanta talked about the dangers of smoking tobacco of any kind and gave their personal trials and tribulations from the effects of smoking.
The conference ended with a presentation from local family practice physician Malcolm Floyd who spoke about depression and how it affects males and ways it can be treated.
“Thanks to all of our physicians, hospital employees and people from the community who volunteered, and a special thanks to all of the men who showed up today,” said Marcus Johnson, director of Community Relations at PSMC. “As usual, men were here as early as 6 am and they always come out in full force for this event. We look forward to seeing them and even more in 2016.