Westwood High School, seen above, will be the site of the 2020 Marquette County Women’s Health Expo, presented by U.P. Home Health & Hospice and Upper Peninsula Health Plan. (Courtesy photo)

MARQUETTE — U.P. Home Health & hospice and Upper Peninsula Health Plan are teaming up to present the Marquette County Women’s Health Expo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at Westwood High School in Ishpeming. The event is free which includes lunch, a gift bag and a chance to win an iPad.

The day event will include educational presentations from physicians, physical therapists to social workers with topics ranging from diabetes, pre-diabetes, self-care, women’s health, preventative health, physical therapy for women’s issues to dental health.

People are encouraged to register by March 1, as the event is capped at 500 attendees, UPHHH Director of Community Services Kori Tossava said. So far, 125 people have registered.

“It’s technically a day-long event but people can come and go. You don’t have to register in the morning and we chain you to a table; we want it to be basically what you want to get out of it,” Tossava said. “… We wanted this one to have that health focus.”

Nine different presenters will speak with three different time slots, so each session someone will speak on primary care, mental health and a specialty. Health screenings will also be available such as blood pressure and glucose along with health-centered vendors. The day will have a little bit of everything for everybody, Tossava said, adding, a “pampering station” for manicures and chair massages will be present for attendees.

“We always try to make sure people know we’re not putting a preference on women’s health over men’s health or anything. But women’s health does have a tendency to kind of get put on the back burner … Women’s health is not just women’s health. It’s health for everybody, so that’s why we wanted to be able to provide that as an opportunity for people to come in and actually have a day dedicated to learning more or screening or finding out more that’s available in our community. We’re just really excited to give it a shot,” Tossava said.

For people who have busy schedules, this event is perfect because there’s so much to do and plenty of health stations to keep attendees busy, Tossava said. Some people only see their physician once a year, or more or less depending on who they are, she said, noting that a person’s health changes from time to time and it’s important to be aware of personal health and wellbeing.

This event is the right setting to address doctors and health care agencies on questions they have while also making health a priority for families by bringing “your mom, your daughter or your grandmother” along with, Tossava said.

“We hope that people get an opportunity to attend to learn a little bit more about their health; to maybe be empowered or focusing on it a little bit more than they have in the past,” she said. “From our standpoint, we want to be able to lure people in with this day-long event with things like giveaways and prizes so they can some time to dedicate to themselves and their own health. It’s really kind of a beautiful day just because it is a collaboration between health care agencies, businesses, the community and nonprofits.”

For more information or to register for the event, visit uphomehealth.org.

Jackie Jahfetson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. Her email address is jjahfetson@miningjournal.net.