By Megan Willis
Elm Staff Writer
The recent Health Fair brought a hubbub of activity to Hodson Hall.
The tables varied distinctively from nature to patron. At the stairs of Hodson, Cassie Ervine was working the drug and alcohol awareness station.
“We have a lot of interactive stuff,” Ervine said. “We’ve been having students put on beer goggles, looking up information, and playing different games.”
Further down, nutrition became the hot topic. Employee Laurie Hodson was working the table for a business called Gluten-Free Goodies.
“Gluten is in wheat, so people who can’t have it find it really hard to eat a lot of things. We specialize in baked goods without gluten for delivery locally,” Hodson said.
In addition to goodies, there were healthy living tables, which included the colorfully decorated Zumba table led by assistant director of admissions Aundra Weissert.
“Zumba is a dance exercise for anyone,” Weissert said. “It makes you feel good. We’ve been giving several demonstrations along with the Yoga and Pilates expos. We want people see how fun exercise can be!”
Also within the Egg, the Chester River Health Center had set up several different stations, including: diabetes awareness, breast cancer awareness, and other preventative medicines. Paula Pouliot, R.N. explained the importance of college health fairs.
“Kent County has the highest percentage of diabetes and obesity in the state. However, we are such a small community that we have to focus more on preventative medicine. When President Reiss met with our new CEO, they began talking of something to bring the community together for better health. They wanted to include employees and students here, so the Health Fair was formed,” Pouliot said.
Dawn Nordhoff from the Health Center furthered her claim about the importance of a Health Fair on campus.
“Preventative medicine is always the best,” Nordhoff said. “Giving new information and raising awareness for health issues like this benefits everyone, not just students. That’s why the Employee Wellness Community worked so hard to set this up. There are tables for different insurance carries and the new George Goes Lean Program that target employees as well as students.”
However, students are not left out. In addition to playing with beer goggles, there were several other exhibits that seem to target students such as the Derma-skin exhibit that measures your skin’s health, a caffeine exhibit, and a special surprise for pre-med students.
“Starting next year, Chester Hospital will start a volunteer program for pre-med students,” RN Kelly Button said. “They would shadow doctors, transport patients, and get a feel for what it is like to work in a hospital.”
April 15, 2011
Volume LXXXI Issue 22