A Fun Men’s Health Super Event Will Address Serious Need

Whether you admit it or not, most of us men take our health for granted. And when we actually do feel unusual pain or discomfort, what’s our usual mantra? Suck it up. Tough it out. Walk it off.

Men are prone to what Bill Paparian, Chairman of the Board of Men Educating Men About Health (MEMAH), calls “the superman syndrome.”

Proving your manhood by ignoring health warning signs actually is opposite of being manly, Paparian says, because it can result in hospitalization or death – which deprives families of fathers and husbands.

Families are better off with their men alive.

Which is why Men Educating Men About Health (MEMAH) is setting up an event this June, called Get Healthy Pasadena, to create health awareness for men, but for all adults too.

“On June 8th 2013, we’re hosting Get Healthy Pasadena, our Third Annual Health Conference Screening, at our new location: Pasadena City College,” says Jim Morris, Executive Director of MEMAH.

Paparian adds, “this is the third year in a row that we put together such an event where each time it’s growing, it’s getting bigger, it’s been becoming more successful. We have literally saved lives at this event.”

Saving lives is what MEMAH is all about.

Paparian recalls that the very first year MEMAH staged its free-for-the-public health event, doctors at the Get Healthy event discovered some men needed to go the hospital “stat.”

Morris adds, “I think we did tested close to 500 people in the carotid artery test alone. It was seven people that the physicians said needed to seek immediate help – they could possibly die in a moment.”

At this year’s event, Morris says MEMAH is “expecting over ten restaurants to be participating and giving to our clients good and healthy food, and some of them are Whole Foods, Bristol Farm, Stonefire, Heirloom, and Corner Bakery.”

MEMAH has also partnered with several different health providers to sponsor the event. Included are Health Care Partners, Kaiser, City of Hopes, Methodist Hospital, the Community Health Alliance, the Wellness Center and the Health and Science Department of PCC, the Health Academyof Blair High School, and Muir Ranch High School, among many others.

What sets apart MEMAH’s event from other similar screenings is that it makes sure people also have a good time while we bond about health.

“We wanted to have both men and women come to a health conference and actually have a good time. In this case, we wanted our community and those from surrounding communities to come to a celebration where they could get all the screenings, free, have good, healthy food that’s also free, and listen to great, live music,” says Morris.

Though it might seem incongruous to have fun at medical screenings, Paparian explains that it all serves a good purpose, as the event is about “the healing effects of music on the soul and the importance of eating healthy food as part of your health regime.”

Morris also adds the event is supposed to be “relaxing. It’s like having a block party and everyone comes. But you get screened, food and music all at the same time.”

For such a life-changing event, one might assume that the price of admission won’t be cheap. However, Paparian says it won’t cost a single dime. The food, the music, the screenings are all free. “All [one] has to do is fill out the form,” he says.

To fill out the form, interested individuals go online and indicate which screenings they’d like to have. Then upon arrival at Get Healthy, they’ll be given some paperwork and directed to the various screening areas.

There will also be a conference where various experts, such as Dr. Walsh from the Pasadena Health Department, will talk about different health issues most men encounter; from prostate cancer to obesity, diabetes to cholesterol.

What MEMAH is giving is nothing short of revolutionary, Paparian says.

“We’re taking health down into the community. A lot of people cannot afford health care, proper health care. Most people cannot afford health insurance,” he points out.

Morris seconds the sentiment. “We still feel there’s a great need to help our community and this is one way that MEMAH has the opportunity to give back to all of the communities that we’re connected to.”

To learn more about MEMAH, visit http://memah.org or call (626) 389-2759.

To register online, you can fill out the form at http://www.bhscaliforniachapter.com/GH2013RegEnglish.html.