Workshops & Health Screenings
10:15am - 10:45am – Exploring Wine and Chocolate presented by Michaela Hightower
For Colorado Springs native, local business professional and entrepreneur, Michaela Hightower, the saying “If you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life” couldn’t be more true. Combining her passion for people with her love of teaching, Michaela strives to make learning about wine and spirits fun for everyone.
Michaela earned a BA in Communication from the University of Colorado in 1999. While working as an event planner, Michaela’s interest in wine and spirits grew. Her journey to becoming a wine and spirits expert took her to several US vineyards and abroad (France and Italy) where she studied to earn her certifications from the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Level 3 Tasting Certification from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) and most recently, her Certified Specialist of Wine designation from the Society of Wine Educators.
Always looking to expand her knowledge, and ever curious, Michaela enjoys looking for new wine and spirit experiences that she can bring back and share with other wine professionals, friends, and clients. She has sipped tequila with rancheros in Mexico, swapped tall tales among viticoltori and Grappa in Italy, learned a little moonshine history from modern day bootleggers in the south, and sampled the sweetest ice wine in an ice house tasting room in Canada to name just a few.
When she is not working, Michaela enjoys spending time with her daughter (her heart and greatest joy) and re-imagining vintage items to bring them back to life.
10:50am - 11:20am – Preventing Strokes in Atrial Fibrillation presented by Dr. Derrick Fansler
Atrial Fibrillation is the most common cardiac rhythm disturbance, impacting one of four Americans in their lifetime. We will discuss how atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke and how we assess this risk in patients. We will cover treatments to reduce the risk of stroke including blood thinners and procedures.
Doctor Derrick Fansler is a board certified Cardiac Electrophysiologist who works at Penrose St Francis Hospital as part of Colorado Springs Cardiology. He is originally from Minnesota and obtained an engineering degree and then medical degree at Northwestern University in Chicago. He completed Internal Medicine training at the University of California San Francisco. He trained in Cardiovascular Diseases and then Cardiac Electrophysiology at Barnes Jewish Hospital / Washington University in St Louis. He has been practicing in Colorado Springs since 2014.
11:25am - 11:55am – Mitral Valve Disease presented by Dr. John Mehall
Dr. John R. Mehall will be speaking about Mitral Valve Prolapse and Mitral Valve Disease. Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) affects approximately 1 in every 35 people in the United States, and more women than men. MVP is cause by a fibroelastic deficiency in the tissue that makes up the mitral valve, causing the valve to bulge backwards and eventually leak. In many patients, there are no symptoms and no treatment is needed. In some patients, there are symptoms or significant valve leakage and mitral valve repair is necessary.
Dr. John R. Mehall, MD, FACS, FACC is a nationally recognized cardiac surgeon and expert in minimally invasive heart surgery. Dr. Mehall has spoken at over 25 national meeting and taught minimally invasive surgical techniques to other heart surgeons for over a decade. His expertise has allowed him to create the busiest minimally invasive surgical practice in the Mountain West, caring for patients from across Colorado plus 37 states and four countries. In addition to patient care, Dr. Mehall is the Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery for Centura Health and the Co-Chair of the National Cardiac Surgery Committee for Catholic Health Initiatives. He and his family are deeply involved in the Colorado Springs community.