Hot Springs will be the first community in the country to offer city-wide support of the  Million Hearts initiativeT  Feb. 15 when it hosts a health fair to raise public awareness of heart disease and stroke - two of the leading causes of death in the United States and Arkansas. Million Hearts is a national health initiative aimed at preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes over a five-year period. The heart-wise happening will be from noon to 5:30 p.m. at the Hot Springs YMCA, located at 130 Werner St. Lt. Gov. Mark Darr will be the keynote speaker.

      "Too many men and women in our community are dying from heart disease and stroke," said Dean Ehrenheim, YMCA chief executive officer.  "By raising awareness and helping people take simple steps - appropriate aspirin therapy, blood pressure control, cholesterol management and not smoking - we can all live healthier, more productive lives."

(LITTLE ROCK) —The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) and local school districts statewide are again offering the seasonal flu vaccine to school children in grades K-12 beginning the week of October 8. School clinics will be going on for the next several months.

Seasonal flu vaccine is not required for children to attend school, but it is highly recommended.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) recommend everyone aged 6 months and older receive a seasonal flu vaccine every year.  Seasonal flu causes children to miss school and their parents to miss work.   If you have insurance, the ADH will ask your insurance company to pay for the cost of giving the vaccine.  If you do not have insurance or your insurance company does not pay, the shot will be no charge to you.