Wake Forest Medical Students To Sponsor Free Health Fair at Marketplace Mall

December 7, 2005

Students at Wake Forest University School of Medicine will sponsor “Share the Health,” a health fair designed to encourage the medically underserved to become active participants in their own health care. The fair will include free health screenings.

The sixth annual health fair will be held on Saturday Jan. 28 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Marketplace Mall, 2101 Peters Creek Parkway. Admission is free.

The fair will feature free testing of cholesterol as well as glucose in the blood, an early marker of diabetes. The fair also will include screening for glaucoma, a group of eye diseases that can lead to vision loss and possible blindness, and screening for high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure.

Visitors to the fair will get a chance to learn their body mass index, which is computed from weight and height. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 indicates a person is overweight; over 30 indicates obesity.

For Hispanic participants, translators and information in Spanish will be available.

Health care professionals from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, the community and area organizations will address issues pertaining to child and adult health care and offer free health and safety information on such topics as sickle cell anemia, bone marrow transplants, women’s health, adult health, pediatrics, mental health, exercise and nutrition, childhood obesity, and blood donation.

Everyone who attends can win a door prize by getting a “passport” stamped at each table. People completing the passport also will be eligible for a larger prize.

“Share the Health” is sponsored by Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Materials and staffing for the screenings are being provided by the Medical Center’s Wellness and Corporate Health Services.

Several student organizations are involved. Student National Medical Association members will do the glaucoma screening. Asian and Pacific-American Medical Student Association members will work with the Red Cross on a blood drive.

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Media contacts: Robert Conn, rconn@wfubmc.edu, Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu, or Shannon Koontz , shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, at (336) 716-4587.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. U.S. News & World Report ranks Wake Forest University School of Medicine 30th in primary care, 41st in research and 14th in geriatrics training among the nation's medical schools. It ranks 32nd in research funding by the National Institutes of Health. Almost 150 members of the medical school faculty are listed in Best Doctors in America.

Media Relations

Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587