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By Meredith Amor
Director of Communications, Barry University
 
April 28, 2022, Miami, Florida – Barry University graduate nursing students on April 23, 2022, offered a day of free health screenings, education, and fun to the general public at the University’s Miami Shores campus. From nutrition to exercise, mental health, acupressure, skin care, heart health, foot care, COVID-19 education, and more, the fair focused on total body health. The fair also featured entertainment for the whole family.

A comprehensive community health event, the Health and Wellness Fair is part of the core curriculum of Barry’s graduate Nurse Practitioner program, giving students the opportunity to assess and address community health needs.

Student organizer Stephanie Kolam shared that producing the fair is a highlight of her educational experience at Barry University. “At the end of the day, we’re soon-to-be nurse practitioners, and we care deeply about the community and well-being,” she said. “Good health starts in the community, and we are proud to do our part to promote that.”

Commitments to collaborative service and advancing social justice are pillars of the Barry University Mission, and the health fair is one of the many ways Barry’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences works to realize these commitments. 

Barry University students have been coordinating the fair in communities across South Florida for more than a decade and, after, hosting online last year due to the pandemic, students, faculty, and staff were thrilled to be back in-person and inviting the local community to campus.

Dr. Laura Albuja, Assistant Professor of Nursing who works with the student organizers, said the event benefits the community but also the education of compassionate, competent healthcare providers. “Providing a valuable service and promoting health is aligned with our Barry University Mission,” she noted. “Furthermore, we enjoy working with our students as they learn to reach members of the local community where they host the fair in an effective, professional, and methodological way.”

While the Health and Wellness Fair is organized by Barry University graduate nurse practitioner students, it involves participation across Barry University healthcare programs, including the School of Podiatric Medicine, the Nurse Anesthesiology program, Counseling, the School of Social Work, the Occupational Therapy program, undergraduate and doctoral Nursing programs, and Exercise Physiology, as well as the Florida Department of Health and top health care providers in the region.

For more information, visit barry.edu/healthfair.