Submitted by Summit Pacific Medical Center
Many community members and employees have come to know and love the monthly Community Education Dinners sponsored by Summit Pacific Medical Center.
This year’s topics are expanding to meet a more diverse group of community needs. Some core topics from past years will return along with new topics for 2017 including children’s nutrition, vision awareness, preventative physical therapy, benefits of naturopathy and end of life planning.
The first Community Education Dinner of this year will be held next Monday, February 27 from 4 to 5 p.m. in SPMC’s Kelsey Conference Room and will focus on “Navigating Your Healthcare Visits.” One of SPMC’s longtime primary care providers, Mary Ellen Biggerstaff, DNP, will be presenting. This class will cover how to best prepare for healthcare visits, how to get the most out of visits, when to use urgent care versus emergency care, what to ask at appointments and more.
SPMC’s vision for the events is to provide important education around various health and wellness issues, prevention tactics and community resources. Nichole Pas, Communications Specialist at SPMC shared, “The more informed our community becomes on how to take charge of our health and happiness; the easier it will be for us to make choices that improve our quality of life. The dinners are also a fun opportunity to try delicious, but healthy meals and socialize with our neighbors.”
Topics covered in the past include stroke awareness, pediatric asthma, heart attacks, diabetes, blood thinners, healthcare reform, managing medications, menopause, pediatric rashes and fevers and headaches.
SPMC’s Pharmacist, Andrew Burton, PharmD presented on “Blood Thinners” at the last Community Education Dinner of 2016. He explained the reasons that blood thinners, or anticoagulants, are used and the most common reasons people take the medication. The audience learned that certain vegetables, such as leafy greens could affect how the medication functions. He also debunked some common myths and answered many questions from the crowd.
If you have not already attended one of the popular Community Education Dinners, make time this year to come see what all the hype is about. The dinners tend to take place on the last Tuesday of every month, from 4 to 5 p.m., in the Kelsey Conference Room at Summit Pacific Medical Center. Classes are free, with no RSVP required, feature a guest speaker and of course, dinner! Some classes will include a healthy cooking demonstration by Executive Chef, Brandon Smith.