UFV’s annual Nursing Health Fair is coming home.
After years of setting up in malls, Bachelor of Science in Nursing students will unveil diverse displays dedicated to health promotion inside UFV’s Chilliwack campus at Canada Education Park on March 19.
Future nurses will be in the atrium of Building A from 9 am–6 pm, discussing health topics ranging from fad diets and detoxes to sleep deprivation, avoiding skin cancer, preventing Type 2 diabetes, and others.
While the mall set-up typically serviced seniors, co-organizer and nursing instructor Sandra Flynn hopes the move to CEP helps expand the Health Fair’s reach to students, area residents, staff, faculty, and even police from the nearby Pacific Region Training Centre.
Preparing for the event allows students to hone their skills in taking statistical data and applied theory and communicating it in a way that the public can understand and learn from. It also includes great giveaways and prize draws.
“It meets students’ learning needs but also gives us an opportunity to provide a service to our local UFV community and the community as a whole,” explains Flynn.
A new aspect to this year’s fair is a presentation by Dr. Lenore Newman, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Food Security and the Environment at UFV, and Agriculture instructor Tom Baumann. Titled ‘From Food to Health’, their talk delves into the production of food, following it from field to fork.
“A healthy farm base leads to healthy people,” says Newman.
“Our region is bursting with fresh healthy produce that comes right up the food chain to our chefs and our retailers, and makes it easy to eat better.”
Fourth-year student Sonja Hausmann’s project concentrates on the human papillomavirus — offering important information about a serious virus people might not know they already have. Her four-member group is working hard to ensure all the facts are available to share in an appropriate and educational fashion.
“This experience as been pretty eye-opening,” Hausmann admits.
“To find statistical data is challenging, but you need to be dedicated to gathering accurate information because the public is counting on you. The Health Fair is a great way for us to prepare for accurately delivering a variety of delicate information to the public.”
Building A of UFV’s Chilliwack campus at Canada Education Park is located on Caen Avenue, one block south of Keith Wilson Road.
