NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University is hosting a Community Health and Wellness Fair on April 21 that organizers hope will motivate people to live healthier lives.
The event, which is free to the public, is a partnership between TSU, the DP Thomas Foundation for Obesity, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s HIV Vaccine Program, and the Turnip Truck, a natural foods grocer in Nashville.
The fair is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. in the university’s Kean Hall on the main campus. More than 30 vendors with some connection to health care and wellness are expected to participate.
Among its offerings, the fair will provide information on weight loss management and nutrition, as well as fitness demonstrations and health screenings, including hypertension, glucose and cholesterol.
One of the main participants is TSU’s Dental Hygiene Department, which has a full service campus clinic that averages about 600 patients a year, many of whom are from the surrounding community.
Dr. Gary-Lee A. Lewis, head of TSU’s Dental Hygiene Department, said he hopes the fair will help increase that number “with the linkages that we make with the community.”
“It’s a mutually beneficial experience for both our students and value for the community,” Lewis said. “It showcases all aspects of health to the community.”
Vic Sorrell is the community engagement coordinator for the Vanderbilt HIV vaccine program, which he said will offer HIV testing and HIV prevention education and information at the health fair.
“This is an ideal way for our community to collaborate on reaching the goal of zero new HIV transmissions by the year 2020, according to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy,” Sorrell said.
For more information about the Community Health and Wellness Fair, call 615-474-1286, or email: dpthomasfoundation@gmail.com.
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With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 25 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.