For Immediate Release

Date:  November 20, 2006

BLOOMSBURG—A group of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania nursing students will provide health information and services to residents of Columbia County during a health fair and screening event. The fair will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Columbia Mall. The event is free and open to the public.

Nursing students will offer blood pressure screenings and body fat percentage screenings. Information will be available on cancer, nutrition and obesity, communicable diseases, health care and community resources. The American Red Cross, DAWN (BU’s Drug and Alcohol Wellness Network) and other organizations will also provide health information during the event.

The fair is organized by approximately 30 senior nursing students as part of their community health nursing course. Over the semester, the students assessed the behavioral risks and health demographics of Columbia County. The students focused the topics of the fair on health concerns specific to the community, according to nursing student Anna Berd of Media.

Each semester, senior nursing students assess a local community and then participate or organize an event to educate community members and provide health services to them free of charge. Past communities that have benefited from these programs include Danville, Sunbury, Muncy and Lewisburg. 

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 8,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Professional Studies, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology.