LAREDO (Feb. 24, 2011) — A UT Health Science Center San Antonio physician and author who has been featured on radio talk shows and in newspapers across the U.S. will be the keynote speaker for the UT Health Science Center’s second annual healthy aging conference on March 4.
Free and open to the community, the conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the D.D. Hachar Building on the Health Science Center’s Regional Campus in Laredo, 1937 E. Bustamante St.
Co-sponsored by the School of Health Professions, the conference has the theme of “Mental Issues in Aging” and is part of the Stay Healthier Longer Series. The speakers will be Health Science Center faculty members who are experts in the field of aging. There also will be tips and demonstrations on healthier living into older age.
“We are inviting the entire community, from doctors and nurses who want to learn about the latest in aging research, to caregivers who work with the elderly, to people from the community who care for older family members or want to learn how to stay healthier longer,” said Gladys Keene, M.D., M.P.H., regional dean of the Regional Campus. “There will be something for everyone.”
The keynote speaker is Jerald Winakur, M.D., FACS, CMD, who will speak at noon on “Aging: Mental Issues,” followed by a book signing from 1 to 2 p.m.
A clinical professor of medicine in the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the Health Science Center, Dr. Winakur has practiced internal and geriatric medicine for more than 30 years. After listening to patients’ concerns about the deteriorating health of loved ones in old age, he found himself in the same situation when his father experienced the long decline and death from Alzheimer’s disease. In 2009 he wrote “Memory Lessons: A Doctor’s Story.” He has been featured on national talk shows and in syndicated newspapers throughout the country.
The day’s activities will begin at 8 a.m. with hands-on demonstrations of healthy cooking, home gardening, physical activity and dental hygiene that will continue throughout the day.
Presentations by Health Science Center faculty members will include:
- 10:15 a.m. — “Aging: Medical Considerations,” by Nicolas Musi, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Diabetes and director of the School of Medicine’s Center for Healthy Aging
- 11 a.m. — “Aging: Dental Considerations,” by Eleanore Paunovich, D.D.S., M.S., FASGD, DABSCD, associate professor in the Department of Dental Diagnostic Science’s Division of Oral Medicine
- Noon — “Aging: Mental Issues,” by Dr. Winakur, the keynote speaker
- 1 p.m. — Book signing and networking
- 2 p.m. — “Aging: Caring for the Caregiver,” by Lyda Arevalo-Flechas, Ph.D., RN, M.S.N., clinical assistant professor, John A. Hartford Foundation Claire M. Fagin fellow and the William F. Castella Professor in Aging Research in the School of Nursing’s Department of Health Restoration and Care Systems Management
The cost for continuing medical and nursing education is $20.
For more information and to register, please contact Lourdes Canstaneda at 956-523-7473 or castanedal@uthscsa.edu.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving U.S. federal funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled $228 million in fiscal year 2010. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 26,000 graduates. The $744 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.