Wii Fit a hit at health fair

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jhancock@journalnet.com

POCATELLO -- Chris Brower, a physical therapist at Portneuf Medical Center, said Saturday she has always enjoyed her job and now she is using a popular video game system, helping some of her patients have fun during their treatments.

Brower already knew about the Nintendo Wii, a popular video game system that requires physical movement to be played, but said one of her students recently introduced her to the Wii Fit, which has an added physical demand -- balance.

"It's a fun way to help work on patients' balance," she said. "It also helps with physical coordination and spatial coordination. It can be used for a variety of needs."

Brower was showing off her new tool on Saturday at Portneuf Medical Center's A Woman's A' Fair '08, hosted at the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center. Saturday was the third annual women's health fair.

"Women make about 75 percent of the health care decisions for their family," PMC spokeswoman Ann Swanson said. "They are the gatekeepers of health care."

She said the purpose of Saturday's event was to educate women on different area resources as part of PMC's mission.

One of the new pieces of the event was a mammography coach, a recreation vehicle outfitted with the equipment to perform mammographies, which help in detecting irregularities, such as cancer, in the breast tissue.

"We take it throughout Southeast Idaho," Swanson said. "It's a great way to get that service out to some of the rural areas."

The event ran from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and featured several speakers, including Dr. Julio Vasquez, a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon, and Dr. Jared Price, who specializes in family and sports medicine.

Swanson said the event, which continues to grow larger each year, had 40 vendors on Saturday.

By Jimmy Hancock

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