Black dresses, photo booths and… health screenings? Franciscan Alliance hosted their third annual Spirit of Women Little Black Dress Event to give women a fun and healthy way to spend their Wednesday night.
Amy Delahunty, Outreach and Wellness Specialist for Franciscan Alliance in the Northwest Indiana region, said, “This event is just a great way to bring women together from the community to offer them free health screenings and information. Women are the primary health care decisions makers in the family. If we can reach women, we can also help them disseminate that information to the rest of their family.”
Guests were able to benefit from a plethora of medical services. Balance assessment, blood glucose, blood pressure, body mass index, early heart attack care, foot evaluation, lung function, hands only CPR, skin cancer spot checks, and other health information were all touched upon.
The Laporte County EMS attended the event to educate guests on early heart attack care and the correct way to perform CPR. “The number one thing that helps resuscitation for heart attacks or sudden cardiac arrest is early CPR,” said EMT Jeff Turner. “In the past, people have been hesitant to perform it because of mouth-to-mouth. Thanks to events like these, we are able to boost public awareness of the proper way to perform CPR, which is strictly hands only.”
Special Presentations were also given to further promote this year’s focus on preventative health care. “Instead of waiting till you get sick and learning to manage that, we’re teaching you how to prevent illness with healthy food choices and exercise,” said Carrie Ranta, Manager of Franciscan Omni Health & Fitness Center of Chesterton.“ Exercise truly is medicine, not only for the body, but for the mind and spirit as well. We want to help women understand that they are in control. The conditions that they can be facing are direct results of their choices and they really have the power to make their life better.”
Click here to see all the photos from the 2015 Franciscan Alliance Spirit of Women Little Black Dress Event.
Rachel Hofer, ACE Certified Personal Trainer with a B.S. Fitness Management, gave a presentation on exercises for women of all ages. Ashlee Johnson, with a B.S. in Exercise Science and a Minor in Nutrition, spoke about how to re-think holiday recipes to make them healthier.
“I’ve recently started to really focus on my health again. This event seemed like a great place to start,” said attendee Christine Reddick.
On top of all the medical opportunities, guests were able to enjoy shopping as well. Adornable U Accessories, Arbonne, Button What, Dippity Dips, doTERRA Essential Oils, Memories in Minutes, MTR Designers House, Premier Designs, Scentsy, Serenity Salon & Spa, Tastefully Simple, Thirty-One Gifts, Trinkets, Young Living, and Younique Cosmetics all had booths.
“It’s part of our mission to get out into the community, to educate our patients and our potential patients and to help them live healthier lives,” said Ellen Sharpe, Administrative Director of Physician and Outreach Marketing for Franciscan Alliance. “Health doesn’t have to be all about boring medicinal statistics. We love to make health fun and that’s what we’ve done tonight.”