Dr. Dora Mills will discuss lifestyle changes from a woman’s perspective to prevent heart disease.

LEWISTON – Maine’s chief health care official will be the keynote speaker at the Heart to Heart: Fourth Annual Women and Heart Disease Conference on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Central Maine Medical Center. The program will be telecast to Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital and Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.

Dr. Dora A. Mills, medical director of the Maine Bureau of Health, will discuss “Can Lifestyle Prevent Heart Disease?” in a presentation set to begin at 9 a.m.

Mills will consider whether changes in lifestyle can help prevent cardiovascular disease. She will approach the topic from a woman’s perspective and offer suggestions on how to take action now.

A native of Maine and a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick and the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, Vt., Mills served a residency at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles in Los Angeles.

She earned a master’s degree in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. She practiced medicine in Tanzania, Los Angeles and Farmington before taking her current position.

Following Mills’ keynote presentation, humorist and practicing nurse Susan Goran, RN, MS, will discuss “What Laughter Can Do to Heal Your Spirit and Enhance Your Well Being.” Her presentation will begin at 10:15.

A cooking demonstration with CMMC chef Lee J. Walker Jr. will be featured from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Following the demonstration, a heart healthy lunch will be served free.

Walker has extensive experience in the food service industry, including work at several Maine hospitals. He assisted with the implementation of a healthy heart cafeteria at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington. The effort resulted in a menu that was 98 percent heart healthy.

The Heart to Heart conference will commence at 8 a.m. in the CMMC Conference Center, located on the ground floor of the 12 High Street Medical Office Building, with registration and a light, heart healthy breakfast.

The conference will be telecast to Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital and Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington. Each of the sites will feature its own cooking demonstration.

The Bridgton Hospital program will be presented in the clinic lobby and the cooking demonstration will be made by Marion Browning and Karen Toohey of the Maine Cooperative Extension.

The Rumford Hospital program will be presented in the hospital’s auxiliary coffee shop. The cooking demonstration will be presented by hospital cardiac rehabilitation nurse Deborah Gorham, RN.

The Franklin Memorial Hospital program will be offered in the Ben Franklin Conference Center.

Those wishing to attend the conference at CMMC should call Pam Hageny at 795-2715 to reserve a seat.

Reservations for the Franklin Memorial Hospital can be made by calling Kristen Grondin at 779-2381.

Anyone wishing to join in the program at Rumford Hospital should call Jane Bubar at 369-1143.

Those who would like to join in the program at Bridgton Hospital can call Pamela Smith at 647-6055.

The program is free at all participating sites.