Still Time to Register for the University of Arizona Arthritis Center’s 2014 Living Healthy With Arthritis Conference, Jan. 25

There still is time to register for the University of Arizona Arthritis Center’s 2014 Living Healthy With Arthritis conference to be held Saturday, Jan. 25. The day of inspiration, empowerment and fun begins with check-in and light breakfast refreshments at 8 a.m., followed by speakers and breakout sessions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at The University of Arizona Medical Center–University Campus, DuVal Auditorium, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson.

The conference will cover information about health and services that help improve daily life and promote strengthening the mind and body to manage arthritis.

Conference registration is $15 per person and includes lectures, breakout sessions, materials, continental breakfast and lunch. (Members of the University of Arizona Arthritis Center Friends attend free; registration required.) Free parking is available in The University of Arizona Medical Center–University Campus Visitor/Patient Parking Garage just south of the main entrance and in nearby UA Zone 1 lots.

To register, or for more information about the conference, please visit the University of Arizona Arthritis Center website, www.arthritis.arizona.edu, email livinghealthy@arthritis.arizona.edu or call 520-626-5040.

Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, 17th Surgeon General of the United States and distinguished professor with the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, will be the keynote speaker. As Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Carmona served as our nation’s top doctor, issuing calls to action in the fight against major health concerns such as obesity, heart disease, cancer and the dangers of secondhand smoke.  In his unique presentation, “Obesity: From Arthritis to Zoonoses, the Most Potent Accelerator of Chronic Disease,” Dr. Carmona will address the obesity epidemic and its health, economic and security threat worldwide. He will discuss obesity and the economic burden on the United States and the world, while relating the impact of obesity to many sectors of society. With a focus on shifting the paradigm of healthcare from treatment to prevention, Dr. Carmona will share his expertise on lifelong healthy living as a key component to medical care.

A lunch roundtable, “Living Successfully With Arthritis,” will feature Perry Skeath, PhD, assistant research director, University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, and assistant professor of medicine, UA College of Medicine – Tucson; University of Arizona Arthritis Center Director C. Kent Kwoh, MD, professor of medicine and medical imaging; The Charles A.L. and Suzanne M. Stephens Chair of Rheumatology; and chief, Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology; and Gail Kershner Riggs, MA, CHES, retired clinical lecturer, rheumatology and geriatrics, UA College of Medicine – Tucson.

Breakout sessions promoting patient empowerment through management of arthritis will feature doctors and alternative therapy practitioners:

• Physical Stresses of Osteoarthritis … Advances in Treatment and Prevention
Randy Raugh, PT, DPT, physical therapist, Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital Outpatient Orthopedic Clinic

• Q and RA: What’s New in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Jeffrey R. Lisse, MD, professor of medicine and Ethel McChesney Bilby Endowed Chair for Osteoporosis, UA College of Medicine – Tucson

• Optimal Aging
Jane Mohler, NP- C, MPH, PhD, associate director, Arizona Center on Aging; professor, UA Colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy and UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; and co-director, Arizona Geriatric Education Center

• The Body Beautiful – Embracing a Healthy Body Image
Ann Pardo, MA, LPC, ACS, NCGS, director of Life Management, Canyon Ranch Health Resort

• Exercise for Life – Thriving With Arthritis
J. Michael Siemens, MS, clinical director, Exercise Science, and director, Aqua Therapy, Canyon Ranch Health Resort

• Transform Your Relationship With Arthritis, Yourself and Those You Love
Alexcis Spencer, MS, CH, owner and therapist, A Transformative Touch Wellness Center

• PrOM: Preservation of Motion … Evidence Update on Non-Operative and Operative Care of Arthritis
Michael Dohm, MD, clinical specialist in geriatric orthopaedics, joint replacement and spinal pain management; assistant professor of medicine and orthopaedic surgery, UA College of Medicine – Tucson

• Putting Pain in its Place – Arthritis Pain Do’s and Don’ts
Eric P. Gall, MD, MACP, MACR, professor of medicine, UA College of Medicine – Tucson; co-founder, University of Arizona Arthritis Center

The conference is presented by the University of Arizona Arthritis Center and supported by the Susan and Saul Tobin Endowment for Research and Education in Rheumatology, the University of Arizona Arthritis Center Friends, and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.

Media Contact: Jean Spinelli