USS Abraham Lincoln Hosts Health Fair

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) hosted a health promotion fair for Lincoln Sailors aboard the ship’s floating accommodation facility (FAF), Nov. 16.

Lincoln’s Medical department held the fair to educate and promote women’s and men’s health, tobacco cessation, back health, supplement awareness, stress and anger management, and to explain Sailors’ Tricare health coverage benefits.

Lt. Thomas Slocum, the ship’s physical therapist and health promotion coordinator, said the fair provided Sailors with a good opportunity to learn about the ship’s various health care programs.

“Pulling into the yards can be more hard and stressful for the entire crew than being out to sea,” Slocum said. “We are trying to push out all the promotable material so that everybody knows what resources they have to stay happy and healthy.”

The Medical department representatives spent a few hours in a training classroom aboard the FAF displaying their products, sharing information and answering questions.

“We’re here to support Lincoln Sailors who just don’t know what resources they have available,” said Slocum.

Though there were many good reasons to host the fair, Slocum said the biggest benefit was the opportunity to promote men’s and women’s health.

Abraham Lincoln arrived in Norfolk, Aug. 7, following an eight-month change of homeport deployment that brought her to Virginia from Naval Station Everett, Wash., her home since January 1997. Over the next four years, Lincoln will undergo a refueling complex overhaul in Newport News, Va.

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Naval Today Staff, November 19, 2012; Image: US Navy