UAMS 12th Street Health & Wellness Center to Host ‘March Man-ness’ at Saint Mark Baptist March 18

By Ben Boulden

| Feb. 28, 2017 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) 12th St. Health & Wellness Center invites the public to participate in free health care services at its “March Man-ness Men’s Health Event” March 18 at Saint Mark Baptist Church in Little Rock.

While this event focuses on men’s health, women also are invited to receive free blood pressure checks, glucose and cholesterol screenings, and physical examinations from 9 a.m. to 2 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.

“Continued public participation each year has shown there is a real need in the community for these screenings and health education. Serving that community is our mission, and March Man-ness is a big part of fulfilling it,” said Lanita White, Pharm.D., director of the UAMS 12th Street Health and Wellness Center. “This is our fourth annual March Man-ness Men’s Health Event, and they just keep growing every spring.”

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

Each man who attends March Man-ness will receive a free T-shirt. There also will be free food, exercise demonstrations, child care and activities provided.

Saint Mark and Epoch Health, which provides men’s health services, are the main sponsors and have been since this UAMS event began in 2014. Epoch Health will give away a large, flat-screen television. The Arkansas Cancer Society will be among those organizations providing educational materials. ARcare and Linq for Life are also sponsoring and providing supplies and services for March Man-ness.

A private, nonprofit organization, ARCare provides affordable primary and dental care at 27 locations in Arkansas with a focus on patient, community and employee health. Linq for Life, also a nonprofit organization, works to educate and increase the awareness about HIV and AIDS. With locations in Arkansas, Alaska, Arizona and Missouri, Epoch Health is a men’s health practice that provides comprehensive treatment services to men of all ages.

The 12th Street Health & Wellness Center is a free interprofessional 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 and 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.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a northwest Arkansas regional campus; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,870 students, 799 medical residents and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.