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Health Care Seminar Designed To Meet Women's Needs
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Published: February 22, 2008
Tampa ophthalmologist Steven Maskin learned something when he started offering free seminars on dry eye.
The condition primarily affects women, and each seminar would attract 25 or 30 middle-aged ladies. At the end of his presentations, when it came time for questions and answers, Maskin was surprised at how frustrated women were with our health care system and how little they learned about their health issues from their doctors.
Maskin says the message was clear. "The system is not built to educate," he says, "When you leave the patient off the team, we aren't going to have success. The patient must be a part of the team to achieve the best results."
Maskin set out to fill the information void and meet the demands of women by offering a day of health care education just for them, presented by medical specialists who agreed to speak in plain English, not doctor jargon, and who agreed to devote a good deal of time to answering questions from the audience. He called it "Focus on Females Women's Healthcare Symposium." The first free daylong event was held at the Tampa Convention Center in 2006. Women could choose from 12 workshops and were treated to a free lunch.
Two hundred women attended. The next year, 850 women turned out, and even more workshops were added to address topics women asked about: depression, diabetes, incontinence and leukemia. This year, Maskin has moved the event to the Channelside complex in downtown Tampa and has room for 1,500.
The faculty members for the day are all fellowship-trained specialists who have volunteered their time. Maskin will lead a seminar on dry eye and how to reverse the condition. Obstetrician-gynecologist Madelyn Butler will speak on menopause. Rheumatologist Joel Silverfield will cover osteoporosis. And Christine Laronga of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute will discuss breast cancer.
Other topics will include heart disease, depression, sleep disorders, fertility and preventing cancer through nutrition. Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Dottie Berger MacKinnon will deliver the keynote address during lunch, sharing her own eight-year breast cancer survival story. Women will have a chance to have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked and can participate in fitness classes that include tai chi, kickboxing and resistance training.
The third annual Focus on Females Women's Healthcare Symposium will be held March 1 in the Channelside Cinemas, 615 Channelside Drive, Tampa. Doors open at 7:30 a.m., and the first round of workshops begins at 9 a.m.
Advance registration online is strongly recommended to ensure a space in preferred workshops. Go to www.focusonfemales.com or call (813) 514-4515 for more information.
Maskin says he has formed a foundation to raise money and sustain the event in Tampa, and he hopes to expand to other Bay area communities and around the state.
"Wherever there's a need, we want to educate every woman who wants to take charge of her health," he says.
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