OLP Events and Cumberland County Aging and Community Services presented the event, a day designed for the area’s 50+ community.

More than 90 exhibitors displayed products and services for travel, housing, medical services, nutrition, home improvements, finances, healthcare, and other needs.

“I just came out to … be more educated on some things that I might sit and wonder about and never took the time to research,” Mary Price, of Enola, said. “They’ve got all kinds of information that you can pick up, and the people are all friendly.”

A first-time visitor, Price found out that, as someone with a hearing loss, she may be entitled to a free captioned telephone through the PA Captioned Telephone Relay Service.

“I wouldn’t have known anything about it had they not been here, so that was very helpful to me,” Price said.

Guests were eligible for a variety of health screenings, all offered free. Screenings included blood pressure, grip strength, glucose, hearing, bone density, and more.

Kmart provided flu shots to visitors, and students from Divine Crown Academy of Cosmetology offered free mini manicures.

Attendee Carol Souders, from Enola, got the all-clear after a hearing check from Miracle-Ear.

“They looked in my ears on both sides with a scope … and they tested both ears to see how high or how low I can hear,” Souders said. “I’m an EMT, and I wear [ear] plugs when I ride in there because the sirens are so loud.”

Kenneth L. Rapp, CFP with Turner Wealth Advisors/An Ameriprise Private Wealth Advisory Practice, started the morning’s stage presentations.

Using both his professional expertise and his own experience caring for his aging father, Rapp shared advice for dealing with situations that can arise in long-term care and rehabilitation facilities.

He also urged seniors to consider naming a trusted younger adult as power of attorney rather than their spouse.

“Think about bringing kids in or somebody else you trust, because what if both of you get sick at the same time? Then you can’t take care of each other,” Rapp said.

Michael A. Hasco, AIFD, with Stauffers of Kissel Hill in Mechanicsburg, shared his passion for designing seasonal, mixed containers of annual plants and natural objects — such as birch branches — to create potted gardens as well as tabletop displays.

“My goal today is to get you excited about decorating in general, and I hope to give you some tips and some tricks so that you can take what I share with you and mold it to your own design aesthetic and kind of tweak it to what you like,” Hasco said.

Dr. Matthew Christian, orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon with OSS Health, spoke on the common foot deformity known as a bunion: why it develops and options for pain management and treatment.

Christian also discussed the benefits of minimally invasive bunion surgery.

“There’s a quicker recovery postoperatively and less pain, all associated with the fact that you can make smaller incisions,” he said.

Similarly, Michael M. Gilbert, DPT, with Gilbert Physical Therapy, talked about the ways physical therapy can heal shoulder pain naturally. He said at the start of therapy, many patients are leery of making their shoulder pain worse.

“If movement of the shoulder already hurts, how can coming into physical therapy and moving more make it any better?” Gilbert said. “Most people struggle to get through that concept, when in reality, if you can learn how to move the right way, the movement is actually the fix.”

Finally, handwriting analyst Mitzi Jones explained why handwriting is still important in today’s digital world and shared some insight on what a person’s handwriting says about their personality.

The 50plus  EXPO was a way to reach a branch of the community for exhibitor Lu Flickinger, resource development director with United Way of Carlisle & Cumberland County, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

“We’re just here to educate and share,” Flickinger said. “Many seniors don’t realize the resources that we offer or the agencies that are available to them.”

OLP Events’ 50plus  EXPOs will return in spring 2019 in Chester, Dauphin, and Lancaster counties. For more information and updates, visit www.50plusExpoPA.com.