Karen Kutac has her blood drawn to test for a total cholesterol screening at the USASMA Spouse Health Fair at Stout Physical Fitness Center Sept. 26. Photo by Robin Shawlinski.
USASMA health fair offers spouses vital risk assessments
Cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, body composition, cardio counseling – sounds like a day at the doctor’s office. But Sept. 26 was anything but for more than 60 U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy spouses.
The spouses arrived throughout the day at Stout Physical Fitness Center to attend the USASMA Spouse Health Fair, a one-stop cardiovascular health risk assessment sponsored by the USASMA Health Promotions Office with assistance from several local medical agencies.
The fair offered spouses the opportunity to have their cholesterol, glucose and blood pressures checked as well as receive information on body composition, shoe selection and osteoporosis, complete with personalized counseling on test results.
“Our primary goal was to provide one-on-one information to each spouse on their cardiovascular risk,” said Maj. Amy Trevino, USASMA Health Promotion Office director. “Globally, we can use the data to look at the spouses as a whole to see if we can find any trends so that we can focus our programs over the course of the year.”
The main mission of the Health Promotion Office is to promote a healthy lifestyle for USASMA students, said Trevino, but the overall mission of HPO is to support the entire USASMA family, to include the students’ spouses and children, as well as academy staff, faculty and retirees.
Caitlin Smith, a sports specialist at Stout Gym, measures the body composition of Pam Andersen by connecting diodes to two locations on her leg. Photo by Robin Shawlinski.
“Unless you have an entire family working toward a healthy lifestyle, you’re probably not going to get as far as you hoped to,” said Trevino. “That’s another reason to get the spouses involved.”
Many spouses said they were pleased with the health fair and felt it was important for them.
Second Lt. Tim Eckerd, a physical therapy intern, aids Lisa Palfreeman in selecting the proper athletic shoe for working out. Photo by Robin Shawlinski.
“Most people don’t go to the doctor’s unless something is wrong,” said Jenny Maddi, USASMA spouse and volunteer at the health fair. “This fair is good because it gets people thinking about wellness. It changes their thought process to prevention.”
Upon arriving at Stout, spouses were asked to fill out a basic demographic sheet geared to cardiovascular history with questions about age, gender, and individual and family history. The spouses then moved on to the second station, where University of Texas at El Paso pharmacy students drew their blood. The blood was used to test for total cholesterol counts. At the next station, height and weight were checked.
“The height and weight helped provide more data as part of the risk assessment as a whole,” said Trevino. “The body mass index was added into the program and gave them their risk as a percentage in graph form.”
The final station provided spouses with an in-depth assessment of their cardiovascular risk. Students from UTEP pharmacy school counseled spouses on their assessment and provided more information on what they could do to improve their overall cardiovascular health.
“Instead of just handing them a sheet with all these numbers, the counselors discussed every aspect with them,” Trevino said. “You can get this done at the doctor’s, but this puts it all together for them. It’s something they can take home with them and look over.”
“[The health fair] was a good concept. You got an overall health assessment in one place,” said Tamara Cruz. “[At the counseling station], I learned a lot about my health – especially the difference between good and bad cholesterol, where my levels were at and what I could do to improve them.”
The key to the success of the health fair was the coordination of the many agencies and volunteers involved, said Staff Sgt. Hank Slaughter, noncommissioned officer in charge of HPO.
“There were a lot of moving parts to this fair,” he said. “Everyone worked together to make this a success.”