Hospital hosts men's health fair at UM golf course on Thursday

Thursday, Baptist Memorial Hospital of Oxford will host its annual Men’s Health Fair at the Ole Miss golf course.

The fair will run from 7:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. and will offer discounts on golf rounds and information on men’s health issues.

The golf course will provide a free cart rental with any round of golf and discounts on walking rounds.

Pro shop manager Gerald Barron said reservations are not required for tee times, but can be made in advance or the day of the event.

“We’re expecting a really good turnout from all the banners and advertisements they’ve had up,” said Barron.

Baptist Memorial will be providing a number of services for men to take advantage of including blood work with a complete profile of blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides for $20 and PSA screening for prostate cancer for $25.

The event is not only geared toward general health, but men’s screenings as well.

“Colon cancer is so rampant right now; we’re going to be giving lots of information about that,” said Melinda Gordon, director of marketing and physician’s services for Baptist North Mississippi.

The fair is an annual event for the hospital, but this will be the first time it has been hosted at the Ole Miss golf course.

“We hope to reach some guys who may not ordinarily come to a health fair,” Gordon said.

“The golf course was very excited to have us out there to promote men’s health with their members.”

Barron agreed.

“The golf course is part of the community, and as part of the community we think it’s great to help support organizations who do this,” Barron said.

The fair is part of Men’s Health month, and Baptist is holding a number of events to bring more information to the community about men’s health.

“Men sometimes do not take care of themselves like we women do, and the more we can educate men in our community and make them aware that it’s important to take care of themselves, the better everyone will be,” said Gordon.

Baptist has already hosted a free blood pressure screening at The Beacon restaurant, and Gordon said they had a great turnout for the event.

“We’re trying to go where the guys are,” Gordon said.

“We’re really trying to get as much education out to the public and reach them as possible; we want to keep them well.”