Andie MacDowell speaks at Women's Health Forum event

click to enlarge Andie MacDowell speaks at Women's Health Forum event
Mark Hancock
Dr. Mary Ann Bauman walks in front of Integris Baptist Medical Centerc 3300 N.W. Expressway, 9-30-15.

Integris Health holds its annual Women’s Health Forum Sunday through Oct. 24, and this year’s session topics include everything from hormones and weight gain to the anthropology of happiness.

Actress and L’Oreal spokesperson Andie MacDowell kicks off the 29th annual Women’s Health Forum Sunday at Civic Center Music Hall. MacDowell starred in the movies Groundhog Day, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sex, Lies, and Videotape.

“Andie MacDowell epitomizes a woman who has been very successful in her career and has maintained her integrity and her health,” said Mary Ann Bauman, Integris’ medical director of women’s health and community relations. “She demonstrates that a woman doesn’t have to be a teenager or constantly chasing youth to be a good role model.”

During the two-week forum, conferences will be held around the metro, often incorporating lunch or dinner to accomodate busy schedules. Women can choose to hear about vaccines over lunch at Lottinvilles Restaurant & Bar, 801 Signal Ridge Drive in Edmond, or allergies over dinner at Paradise Event Center, 450 E. Main St. in Yukon.

“We really made an effort this year to have different sessions all around town,” Bauman said. “We hope it will help people to attend without missing work or anything.”

Although most of the symposiums are free, reservations are required and there’s a fee for sessions that include meals. The opening event at Civic Center Music Hall is free but ticketed.

Extended events for special audiences bookend the forum this year. Men’s Health University was Oct. 3, and the conference wraps up with a day for seniors Oct. 23 and a special event for African-American women Oct. 24.

“We know that women make 75 percent of the health decisions for their family,” Bauman said. “So if we educate a woman, we educate a whole unit of people.”

Integris Health hopes to introduce more women in the area to its doctors and medical services. Two sessions will be conducted principally in Spanish.

Bauman pointed to a session on quality sleep as an area that women should pay more attention to.

“People think that sleep is just a state of doing nothing, but it’s a restorative process. If you do not get enough sleep, you will not be well,” she said. “Women tend to ignore that.”

For more information, call the Integris HealthLine at 888-951-2277 or visit integrisok.com/whf.

 

 

Print Headline: Female fettle, Integris Health holds its annual health forum for women.

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