Students from UFV’s School of Health Studies and School of Kinesiology are inviting the community to visit UFV’s Chilliwack campus for the UFV Health Sciences Fall Health Fair. 

The campus will be buzzing Nov. 4, from 9 am to 3 pm, with UFV Health Sciences students interacting with fellow students, UFV staff and faculty, and members of the public. They’ll run information tables and present mini talks on various health-related topics, with all activities taking place in Building A. 

“I have a group of students who are working with Squiala school, and they are sharing activities on nutrition with the kids at the school,” says Sue Stoneson, assistant professor in nursing. “Nutrition is one of our topics at the health fair, so they are revamping the same activities and bringing a revised version to a new setting for the Health Fair. It’s a great opportunity for them, and a wonderful way to highlight the sort of work our community health nursing students do in their clinical rotations.” 

Students from the Kinesiology program are a key part of the Health Fair, with booths highlighting health topics such as chronic pain management, exercise, and healthy living. 

The fair is supported by the UFV 50 Program Fund and will include a flu vaccine clinic, run in partnership with Fraser Health, for people 18 years and older. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students will be administering flu vaccines with support from Practical Nursing Diploma students.  

“Our Practical Nursing diploma students are not able to administer flu vaccine, but they can interact with students, staff, and members of the public coming to get their immunizations,” Sue says. “They can help with registration, make sure people are feeling well after they receive their vaccine, and give them refreshments. It is a wonderful partnership between programs and it’s very cool to see the bridging happening amongst students in these programs.”   

Anyone who’s interested in getting vaccinated is asked to bring their health card. 

In addition to the Faculty of Health Sciences, this fair will include people from the Indigenous Student Centre, Student Wellness, and the Office of Sustainability, along with pet therapy. Cindy Schultz, Associate Dean in the Faculty of Health Sciences says there’s a long-term vision to hold more health fairs and involve more areas of UFV and the external community. 

Planning is already well underway for another health fair in the spring. 

“And we’re looking at how we can involve more programs in future health fairs,” she notes. “There are programs across UFV that are providing community services, like the School of Social Work or the School of Psychology for example, and we would love to welcome them into this.”  

For members of the public who visit the health fair, Cindy hopes they are impressed. 

“We see this as a great opportunity to bring members of the community to our beautiful Chilliwack campus to connect with UFV, engage in health and wellness education, and showcase our programs, so they can see what we have to offer,” she says.  

For students, Sue hopes they experience another side of community health and enjoy the experience. 

“This is a whole new world for a lot of them, but once they graduate, and if they choose to be a Community Health Nurse, they are going to be setting up tables in malls or other places and they’ll have to prep and present materials to the public,” she says. “There’s also the benefit of seeing and learning from what other students are doing and discovering all the things that their peers in Kinesiology, Dental, and other programs do. It should be a very educational and eye-opening experience.”