The Department Club of Port Arthur will sponsor a forum on health issues facing women to begin at 11 a.m. Feb. 5, at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas, 2555 Jimmy Johnson Blvd., Port Arthur.

The Medical Center and its chief executive officer, George A. McGowan, will host the event. Dr. Oscar Enriquez, local internist, will serve as forum moderator. Dr. Joseph Kong, board certified radiation oncologist, will also speak.

“This would be an excellent program for Red Hat Societies, garden clubs and other women’s groups to attend,” Pat Nasser, forum chair, said. “Dr. Enriquez is a dynamic speaker and will relate the latest information on these health issues. Dr. Kong has more than 30 years experience in the field of oncology. Because cancer incidence is so high in this area, his information will be of interest to all residents.”

Forum topics will be wide ranging and will include osteoporosis, its causes and means of prevention; Alzheimer’s disease, the latest drugs and methods of delaying its progression; and cancer and its different. The facilities available to help sufferers manage these different diseases will be discussed including criteria to use when investigating such facilities.

Informational literature on the topics discussed will be available to participants.

Enriquez recently opened the Ninth Avenue Medical Plaza in Port Arthur. The Plaza contains offices of a pediatrician, a physical therapist and the Cancer Center of Southeast Texas.

Kong, along with Dr. Danny Chow and Dr. Ernest Hymel, are the founders of the Cancer Center of Southeast Texas.

A luncheon will be served following the forum.

Admission to the forum and luncheon will be by pre-paid $6 ticket. There will be no tickets available at the door. Tickets are available from: Carolyn Martinez, 722-5109; Nadine McClelland, 985-5330; and Mary Shoemaker, 983-4717.

The Department Club of Port Arthur is an affiliate of both the Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. The mission of the organizations is to improve the quality of life in their area through programs of actions.

One GFWC program of action is New Horizons in Health. In this program of action, local clubs are encouraged to plan programs and activities to promote healthy lifestyles and encourage women to learn more about health issues facing them.

“This forum fulfills this mandate of the GFWC program of action,” Mary Shoemaker, president of the Department Club of Port Arthur, said. “We are anxious to help the women of South and Mid-Jefferson County become aware of the issues and the solutions to them as well as the facilities available in our own area.”