The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) 12th St. Health & Wellness Center invites the public to participate in free healthcare services at its “March Man-ness Men’s Health Event” on March 23 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 screenings, body mass index assessments, lipid testing, and physical examinations from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free HIV testing will be available using a mouth swab and without needles. For the accuracy of the HIV screening and lipid testing, wait until after the test to eat.
Males also may have blood drawn to check prostate sensitive antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer screenings. A panel of healthcare professionals, pharmacists, and physicians will be on hand along with students from various UAMS programs to answer personal health questions. The event will be in the Family Life Center at Saint Mark Baptist Church, 5722 W. 12th Street.
“March Man-ness is a big part of our mission to meet the community’s health needs,” said Melissa Clark, PharmD, MPH, director of the UAMS 12th Street Health and Wellness Center. “Strong public participation every year has shown there is great demand for the screenings and personal health information. This year’s March Man-ness will mark our sixth annual health event, and each spring its popularity is renewed.”
For more information, visit 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, childcare, and activities.
Saint Mark is the main sponsor and has been since this UAMS event began in 2014. Additional sponsors are the Arkansas Minority Health Commission and JM Bozeman Enterprises. ARCare, Arkansas Prostate Cancer Foundation, and the Arkansas Cancer Coalition are providing supplies and services for March Man-ness.
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 as 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.