Port Angeles Washington - The Authentic Northwest.

(Port Angeles, WA) – Family Planning of Clallam County (FPCC), a local United Way Agency, will hold their 5th Annual Men’s Health & Fitness Expo. The Men’s Health & Fitness Expo is FREE to participants and provides information on men’s health care and fitness issues and encourages men to take appropriate action to improve their well-being. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, July 25th, from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. at Laurel Lanes in Port Angeles (108 W. 8th Street). The Men’s Health & Fitness Expo will offer information and/or screenings on colon health, vision, lung and heart health, driving safety, substance abuse, tobacco cessation, relationship health, sexual reproductive health, and parenting. Family Planning and partnering agencies invite men to enjoy free bowling, door prizes, healthy food and drinks, health information and screenings, and neck and shoulder massages. Family Planning’s Men’s Health & Fitness Expo is sponsored by the Washington State Department of Health Office of Family Planning and Reproductive Health, the Colon Health Outreach and Screening Promotion Project, the Horizons Foundation, and Laurel Lanes. Other partners include Clallam County Family YMCA, Albertsons, Swain’s, Safeway, Blackbird Coffee House, Good to Go Deli, Van Goes Take and Bake Pizza, and Subway on Lincoln Street. Participants at this year’s event include the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the Community Meth Action Team, Olympic Medical Center, Tobacco Free Clallam County, Wal-Mart Vision Center, Compass Counseling, and Absolute Serenity. Daryl Trowbridge, FPCC Health Education Coordinator, shares, “Men typically resist going to the doctor or put it off, sometimes until it’s too late. What they need is a place they can access information that will enable them to make better health decisions; that’s what the Men’s Health & Fitness Expo is all about.” According to the Men’s Health Network (www.menshealthnetwork.org), men make half as many preventative doctor visits as women, die at higher rates than women from the top 10 causes of death, have less healthcare insurance than women, and are discouraged from practicing healthy behaviors. National Men’s Health Week is supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Men’s Health Network, and the Office of Men’s Health. The purpose of Men's Health Week is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. The effort began in 1994 by a Senate Joint Resolution sponsored by Bob Dole and eventually signed by President Clinton. National Men’s Health Week is now celebrated each year and sponsors activities in communities across the country, bring together corporations, government agencies, religious and fraternal organizations, as well as others committed to the prevention and treatment of men’s health issues. Hundreds of groups across the country host events during June to celebrate National Men’s Health Week and help ensure a healthier future for men in our communities and across our nation. If you would like more information about the Men’s Health & Fitness Expo or any other FPCC programs, please contact Daryl Trowbridge at Family Planning of Clallam County at (360) 452-2954 ext. 21.