Miss Louisiana, medical professionals speak at Thursday breakfast meet

Fit, Fun and Fabulous serving St. Mary Parish held its “Breakfast with the Beauties” Thursday morning at the Lamp Post Reception Facility in Franklin.
Among the guest speakers were Dr. Kimberly Bibbins, dental director at Teche Action Clinic; Dr. Kristi Prejeant, general surgery specialist affiliated with Teche Regional Medical Center and Franklin Foundation Hospital; Miss Louisiana 2019 Meagan Crews; and Rudy Macklin, executive director of the Louisiana Bureau of Minority Health Access and Promotions and the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Bibbins lead the panel. She addressed oral health in general and stressed the importance of regular dental checkups.
In particular, she suggested a helpful trick for daily oral care.
“You should brush two times a day, for two minutes at a time,” Bibbins said. “And you should change your brush out twice a month. So, the key number is two; two times a day, two minutes (each) time; and two times a month—change that brush out… and of course, flossing is very important, too.”
Bibbins closed with a joke, “Be truthful to your teeth, or they will be false to you.”
Next to speak was Prejeant, who urged proactive and preventative attention to medical screenings and their import in cancer and heart disease survival rates.
“What we (physicians) would like to do in screening patients is locate disease processes before the patient becomes symptomatic,” Prejeant said. This, she added, helps physicians get out in front of diseases before they become a problem. She listed “hypertension, cholesterol, and cancer screening modalities” among the forms of preventative screening.
She cited heart disease and cancer as the leading causes of death in the United States, both of which causes, she said, are imperative focal points for preventative healthcare professionals throughout the country.
She closed by urging attendees to check with their physicians to see what they should be screened for according to age and demographic.
Following was Macklin, who called Franklin his “favorite town,” saying, “I drive all over the state trying to convince people to be like Franklin.”
He continued with a story of surviving prostate cancer himself, and advised the audience to talk to their families about any histories of cancer or any other medical difficulties that might be shared.
He said, “I come from a family who didn’t talk to one another, and when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I didn’t know that my uncles and cousins had it too, and when they found out that I had it, they asked, ‘How did you get it? You work out all the time, you eat right, you’re in shape.’ Well, it was because everyone else in the family had it too!”
He said that since being diagnosed and surviving, he makes sure his family openly discusses medical conditions and diagnoses.
As for his overall message, Macklin said he travels throughout the state, espousing two principals for health: Nutritional diet and physical activity.
The morning’s keynote speaker was Crews.
She shared her perspective on living healthily as Miss Louisiana 2019.
She said she travels extensively and manages to stay healthy through training and making “healthy, mindful choices.”
However, she said, she does find it difficult not to eat what she wishes to eat, which in Louisiana, is a lot. Portion control is how she does it, and remembering that “balance is everything.”
She further stated that hydration is a big deal for her, as well as sleep.
Yet, the most important thing to Crews, she said, is balance, “Balance is key in all things. I think we live in a world today where the prevalent message should be: Fit looks different for everyone.”
And rounding out the morning, Mayor Eugene Foulcard thanked all the guest speakers for coming to the city, and proclaimed, “Let’s have a good time, let’s learn what we can learn about our health, and getting ourselves in good shape.
“God bless, and let’s have a good time this morning.”