UAMS 12th Street Health & Wellness Center to Host ‘March Man-ness’ at Saint Mark Baptist March 28

By Ben Boulden

While this event focuses on men’s health, women also are invited to receive free blood pressure checks, body mass index estimates, glucose and cholesterol screenings, and physical examinations from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free HIV testing will be available using a mouth swab and without needles.

Males also may have blood drawn to check testosterone levels and prostate sensitive antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer screenings. A panel of health care professionals, pharmacists and physicians will be on hand to answer personal health questions. Saint Mark Baptist Church is at 5722 W. 12th Street.

“The public turnout and experience was so positive for our first March Man-ness Men’s Health Event in 2014 that we want to again to reach out to the community,” said Lanita White, Pharm.D., director of the UAMS 12th Street Health and Wellness Center.

For more information, visit www.Healthon12th.uams.edu or call (501) 614-2492.

The first 100 men to attend March Man-ness each will receive a free T-shirt. There also will be free food, exercise demonstrations, child care and activities provided.

Last November, which was Men’s Health month, UAMS College of Medicine classes of 2017 and 2018 raised $200 in the annual “Manly Mustaches for Men’s Health” competition. All of the proceeds will go to support the March Man-ness event.

In addition to Saint Mark Baptist Church and UAMS, Arkansas Minority Health Commission, Jefferson Comprehensive Care, and Epoch Health and Arkansas Urology are sponsoring and providing supplies and services for the Men’s Health Event.

The 12th Street Health & Wellness Center is a free clinic run by students under supervision of faculty and other licensed volunteers.. It provides students from the UAMS Colleges of Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and the Graduate School an avenue to learn about, from and with each other in an interprofessional center. The center focuses on education, prevention and management of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.  It also provides information about healthy living, preventive care, consultations and screenings for residents of the Little Rock Promise Neighborhood and surrounding areas.