A Heathspan Forum Meeting was held on August 7 at the Oak Crossing Event Center, located at 101 Glenda St, Whitehouse, TX.
The Age Well: A Healthspan Forum Meeting was held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and welcomed those of all ages to attend. It was free to attend and opened to any questions in regards to healthy living. The event is designed to shift the idea of a lifespan to a healthspan, focusing on practices and ways to spend one’s life in good health and free from any chronic diseases or disabilities.
The overall goal of this Healthspan Forum was to share insights on ways to age in a healthy manner, and how to increase one’s healthspan, or in other words the number of years a person is to live in good health. The event had speakers and experts to share knowledge in wellness, insights on good nutritional factors, and medicine to increase one’s healthspan.
The official event itinerary, starting at 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., opened with allowing attendees to enjoy refreshments provided and take the time to explore information health booths hosted by partners such as Rehabilitation Sciences, CTSA Network, Kourage Health, TASCCA (Tyler Area Senior Citizens Association), AVIR Health Group, Lifestyle Change Program, and the Area Agency on Aging. The event had informational booths such as the UTTyler School of Medicine, UTTyler Speech Language Pathology, and the UTTyler School of Health Professionals.
Then from 10:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. there was a welcome and opening remarks by Theresa Byrd, DrPH, who is a Dean at the School of Health Professions at UT Tyler.
From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. there was a keynote presentation by Hirofumi Tanaka, Ph.D., who is a Ruth Knight Millikan Centennial Professor for the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, a Director at a Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory, as a well as a Director of an Exercise Physiology Program at the University of Texas at Austin. His presentation was titled, “Masters Athletes: Age Is Not an Expiration Date but an Invitation to Push New Limits.”
From 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. there was a Dementia Live Experience by Jennifer Garner who is an Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, and a Master of Occupational Therapy Program at UT Tyler. According to the itinerary, the Dementia Live Experience is “an immersive simulation designed to increase awareness and empathy for individuals living with dementia.”
To conclude, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m the event had Jason Burnett, Ph.D., as a featured speaker. Burnett is an Associate Professor, and a Director of both Texas Elder Abuse and Mistreatment Collaboratory and the Social Connections Program at UTHealth located in Houston. He spoke of “Social Connections, Health, and Aging”, as the itinerary states.
The forum’s message outlines that the goal of life shouldn’t be more years, but better and healthier years.