Alcorn holds Health and Wellness Fair, promotes health awareness
Alcorn holds Health and Wellness Fair, promotes health awareness
On November 6, 2013, Alcorn State University hosted its Health and Wellness Fair to promote health and wellness awareness, and encourage its students, employees and community members to assume responsibility for their own health. The event was held in the James L. Bolden Campus Union Ballroom where over 300 participants were exposed to a wide variety of free health screenings and useful information.
Providing health services and information to the participants were students from the Alcorn School of Nursing and 23 vendors including the Mississippi Tobacco Free Coalition, the Mississippi Community Education Center, Red Cross and Claiborne County Family Health Clinic.
Health services provided by nursing students included blood pressure screenings, blood glucose and cholesterol testing, and BMI calculations. There were also vision screenings offered by optometrist Kimberly Rankin of Vicksburg, tobacco-free information provided by the Mississippi Tobacco Free Coalition, dental screenings by dentist Lomont Norris from Vicksburg, and stress testing and techniques for distressing offered by the Alcorn’s Counseling and Testing Center.
The event was spearheaded by Dorothy Davis, RN, director of ASU Health & Disability Services. “We are pleased at the number of participants and that this important health and wellness event is growing,” shared Davis. “It gives us a valuable opportunity to serve as many people as possible on campus and in the community especially those affected by health problems common to this area such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. We encourage everybody to come out and take advantage of these free health screenings.”
“It is my first time participating in the Health Fair at Alcorn,” stated newly employed Wade Tillery, coordinator in the Office of Sustainability at Alcorn. “I got my eyes examined, my stress level checked, and I also enjoyed a relaxation massage provided by the Counseling and Testing staff. I feel so much better!”
Dwayne Stempley Jr., a sophomore majoring in agriculture economics, learned that “some foods that we eat often have lots of sugar in them which is not good for you. Attending the Fair encouraged me to start keeping my weight under control and lead a healthier life style.”
Ella Hudson, director of Alcorn’s Judicial Affairs, shared that she attends every Fair at Alcorn to check her blood pressure and cholesterol level. “Checking it often helps keep my health issues under control. I would recommend that everybody attends this event because you need to be proactive when it comes to your health.”
The event was sponsored by the Department of Health and Disability Services and the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, with assistance from student members of ASU H.E.R.O.S.
The next Health and Wellness Fair will be held at Alcorn on April 16, 2014. For more information on the Fair and a healthy life style, contact ASU Health & Disability Services at [email protected] or 601.877.6460.
Pictured: Blood pressure screening.
Pictured: Blood glucose screening.
Pictured: collecting useful information.
