Women’s
health summit fosters sex awareness
By
Nicole Urbaniec
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
More than 600 people attended the first annual Long Beach Women’s Health
Summit held Saturday at Cal State Long Beach. The event, Women Through the
Ages, was from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the campus’ University Student
Union and was free to all community members.
“
The event was really a means to an end,” said Jody Forter, chairwoman
of the event. “It’s about brining prevention, education and primary
health care to the women and even men of Long Beach.”
Forter started the planning for the event more than a year and a half ago in
order to bring awareness to the community. The event was provided for the citizens
through sponsors like Kaiser Permanente and donations from companies like Starbucks
and Jet Blue. There were no agencies or corporations hosting it.
The event kicked off Women’s Health Month in California. The purpose
of the summit was to provide health-related information, screenings, resources
and services to promote healthy lifestyles to attendees.
“
This is an important event,” said Macela Chavez, director of the CSULB
Women’s Resource Center. “There are so many health issues facing
women today and this is just one way of getting the key information out there.”
More than 50 providers’ booths and exhibits offered information and free
health screenings for health issues such as blood sugar, STDs and HIV, blood
pressure and depression.
Yvette Moultrie spoke at her booth about creating an awareness for ovarian
cancer.
“
I want to educate women to be just as aware of ovarian cancer, if not more
aware about it than breast cancer,” Moultrie said. “It’s
almost twice as deadly.”
Moultrie is a survivor, as she puts it, of ovarian cancer and was diagnosed
with it in September 2004. She has learned first hand what it means to be aware
of health and body.
As a survivor you have to take health into your own hands, Moultrie said.
“
Many doctors won’t give certain tests because they are too expensive,
but how can you put a price on human life?” she asked.
The summit also held more than 30 breakout sessions for participants to attend,
featuring keynote speakers on subjects like birth control, fitness and single
parenting. Terry Olivas-De La O, an occupational therapist in Monrovia, spoke
out against domestic violence in a workshop titled “Love ’Em or
Leave ’Em?: Relationships and Dating.” Her goal was to inform women
on how to have healthy relationships with their partners.
“
A healthy relationship starts with us,” Olivas-De La O said. “If
I am not a friend of myself, then I am not a friend of anybody.”
Judie Zambrano attended the event with her 11-year-old daughter. She was there
to learn about STDs and how to educate her teen children.
“
I wish there was more participation of younger women,” Zambrano said. “Breast
cancer and STDs can happen at a younger age as well.”
The event had a very positive reaction from those attending. Forter talked
about the possibility of hosting a men’s summit in the future. The approach
may be different, but the goal to educate and inform would be the same.
“
What I would take away from this event is that one person can do something
to make a difference,” Forter said. “I may not be able to go help
with the War in Iraq, but I can do something to make a difference here.”
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