FISH Offers Women’s Health Series

FISH OF SANCAP, with Loureen Downes, Ph.D., Associate Professor at FGCU, will be offering a complimentary Women’s Health Seminar Series starting Wed., Feb. 2 at 6:00 p.m. at the Sanibel Community House, 2173 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel. This interactive format consists of an approximate one hour seminar followed by a question and answer period.  Sessions on women’s health are presented by Dr. Downes expertise and a long and distinguished career of education, research, and clinical practice spanning the nursing and lifestyle medicine fields. This health series is open to everyone, though some themes will focus on women’s health.

The Women’s Health Seminar series will be offered on Wednesdays during the Month of February 2022.The seminars will be offered as listed:

Seminar #1: Heart Disease & Lifestyle Behaviors:  Wed., Feb. 2nd from 6:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.   Dr. Downes will introduce heart disease as one of the leading causes of death for women in the US. She will discuss causes and risk factors as well as lifestyle behaviors for prevention of the disease. Other topics of discussion will include ideal cardiovascular health and practical steps to change dietary habits.

Seminar #2: Nutrition and Your Health: Wed., Feb. 16^th from 6:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.   Dr. Downes will discuss nutrition education, the incorporation of positive nutritional practices in our everyday lives, and the effect of nutrition on the development of breast cancer.

Seminar #3: Weight Management: Wed., Feb. 23^rd from 6:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.   Dr. Downeswill help identify the trends of obesity in the US while discussing the health risk of being overweight or obese, including cancer, diabetes, and brain health.

Dr. Loureen Downes has cultivated a long and distinguished career of education, research, and clinical practice spanning the nursing and lifestyle medicine fields.  She earned her Ph.D. in Nursing, with a dissertation subject of Motivators and Barriers of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors, at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Downes is currently an Associate Professor and the founding Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Director at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers, Florida. She is a board-certified family nurse practitioner, a Fellow in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, a member and inaugural diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her academic and clinical trajectory spans 30 years, including 24 years as a Family Nurse Practitioner and 15 years as a nurse practitioner educator.

Dr. Downes’ clinical, scholarly, and research interests are related to preventing and managing chronic diseases through healthy lifestyle behaviors. She is the sole or principal author of seven peer-reviewed journal articles, twelve conference abstracts, and one textbook chapter. Dr. Downes developed an instrument, “Motivators and Barriers of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale,” utilized nationally and internationally.