St. John's plans senior-focused seminar

Building on the success of its Totally Healthy Woman Retreat program, which the hospital began in 2000, St. John’s will offer the Totally Healthy Senior Retreat May 15–16 at Chateau on the Lake in Branson.

Former KY3 personality Tom Dye will serve as host of the event, which has the theme “Live, Laugh and Love.” According to Susan Blackard, vice president of St. John’s Corporate Health and Wellness, the idea is to encourage seniors to be healthy in all aspects of life.

“The purpose of the retreat is to empower seniors to take better care of themselves,” Blackard said. “We felt like we needed to enrich the lives of seniors.”

Enrichment will come through the messages from several guest speakers, as well as opportunities for attendees to meet with doctors for an additional fee to discuss test results or talk to health experts about alternative medicine, the ins and outs of the new Medicare program, drug and vitamin interactions, and natural health strategies.

Physical health, however, is not the only focus. Discussions also will cover savvy traveling tips and financial retirement strategies.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon will give a talk at the event about how seniors can protect themselves from identity theft and other types of fraud.

Realtor Carol Jones is scheduled to speak to attendees about her personal story and how she visualized her way to business success.

Other scheduled speakers are Dr. Norm Shealy, speaking about how to fight the effects of aging; comedian Dennis Swanberg speaking on the joy of living; and certified financial planner Donna Pagano, presenting a proactive way for seniors to organize their final thoughts and wishes with family members.

Nixon spokesman John Fougere said Nixon likes to take opportunities whenever he can to speak directly to seniors.

“(Nixon) talks about how he’s the child of World War II-generation parents – his dad just celebrated his 81st birthday – so he feels a close connection to that age group,” Fougere said.

Fougere added that programs such as the No Call List, established in 2001, have helped to protect seniors, who tend to make up a larger portion of victims of telemarketing scams.

Telemarketing fraud used to be a top-5 customer complaint in Missouri, Fougere said. Now, it’s not in the top 30.

Other topics Nixon will cover include home repair fraud and junk mail.

Want more information?

The price to attend the first Totally Healthy Seniors retreat at Chateau on the Lake is $50 per person or $75 per couple; the cost does not include lodging.

To register, go to www.stjohns.com/seniorretreat or call (417) 820-2322. St. John’s requests registration no later than May 12.