SKIP TO PAGE CONTENT
Menu

'Movember' and men's health

Jessica Kostick, community engagement coordinator for Healthy Klamath, tries her hand at sorting out fire hoses during the strength and agility tests at Klamath Community College Nov. 8 for “Movember” health events. (Caleb Herrera/KCC photo)
KCC staff
Nov 18, 2024
  • Community

KCC hosts ‘Movember’ strength tests to raise awareness for men’s health issues

Emergency workers from local agencies tested their mettle against physical agility and strength tests on the Klamath Community College campus recently as part of “Movember,” a set of weekly challenges during for the month of November to highlight men’s health issues.

KCC is home to the Klamath Regional Training Center, which includes the Emergency Response and Operations Program for students. ERO includes three disciplines: Structure Fire; Wildland Fire and EMT training.

Hauling a makeshift body, comprising fire hoses, was one of the more difficult tests participants faced during the Movember strength tests held on the Klamath Community College campus Nov. 8. (Caleb Herrera/KCC photo)

Men — and women — from the Klamath Falls Police Department, Klamath County Sheriff’s office, Oregon Department of Forestry and Wildland firefighting units — as well as community members — tested their endurance against the clock on Nov. 8. They had to run several hundred yards with fire hoses, carry weighted dummies, run up the center’s five-story fire training tower stairs, and then haul up a full fire hose attached to a rope from below.

“We pick a challenge each Friday in November that can raise awareness of men’s health,” said Jenn Scott, prevention and outreach coordinator for Klamath Basin Behavioral Health (KBBH). Movember is meant to not only look at physical health, but mental health as well.

“We’re a small, rural community, but sometimes men don’t want to talk about issues that may be bothering them. This is a way to make them aware that they are not alone,” Scott said.

Movember events focus on suicide prevention, physical abilities, and cancer, especially prostate and testicular cancers.

Caleb Herrera/KCC photo Members of the Klamath Falls emergency services try their hand at pounding a block of steel with a sledge hammer as part of the strength and endurance tests on the Klamath Community College campus as part of the Movember men’s health awarness events.

At the end of the month, there will be a celebration at the Klamath Basin Yacht Club for all who participated in the events.

The public can get in on the action, too, as Healthy Klamath and KBBH are hosting an Army fitness challenge, Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 4 to 7 p.m.  at the Harbor Isles health club.

If interested in learning more about Movember, check out the website, movember.com. For details on Healthy Klamath and KBBH, visit healthyklamath.org and www.kbbh.org.

Jenn Scott, prevention and outreach coordinator for Klamath Basin Behavioral Health explains that the Movember events are meant to raise awareness among men on how to take better care of themselves, both physically and mentally.

For more information about KCC and its programs, visit www.klamathcc.edu.