The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce is focusing on health this week, with the annual HealthSmart Breakfast & Wellness Expo.

Michelle Wiley, vice president of membership and events, said this year’s event features some 60 vendors, including a number who offer free health screenings such as cholesterol, blood pressure, carotid artery and, new this year, a foot screening. Flu shots also are offered for a minimal charge.

“I think that it’s a really great value that you get for a free event,” Wiley said.

The screenings offer the opportunity to recognize a problem early and better combat it.

"It’s taking someone who could be 20 and just saying, ‘Hey your blood pressure is a little high. These are some of the steps you can take to lower that now, so in 20 years you’re not on blood pressure medication or if you are it’s a lower dose than you would have been on,” Wiley said.

The expo runs 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Georgia Mountains Center and starts with a healthy breakfast for those with paid reservations, due by 5 p.m. today.

Jeff Hill, a meteorologist with Fox 5 News will be the guest speaker. Hill recently suffered complications from a heart disorder and will be sharing about the importance of health, fitness and recognizing the symptoms of a problem.

Also at the breakfast, the chamber will present awards to the most fit companies in three categories based on company size.

Wiley said the number of companies participating in that competition has grown.

“I think that has to do with the fact that more and more companies are implementing wellness programs in the workplace,” she said. Wellness programs vary greatly from company to company but typically offer some incentive to get employees working out or better monitoring their health.

“The bottom line is they’re encouraging the employees to participate and kind of setting that as the status quo for their company culture,” she said.

For more information or to make breakfast reservations, contact Wiley at 770-532-6206 or mwiley@ghcc.com.