Gannon University nursing students made learning fun Thursday at the annual Neighborhood Health Fair at the YMCA of Greater Erie.
Nursing students organized the event as a part of their Community Health class taught by Lisabeth Searing, Ph.D.
The event is made possible each spring through Searing’s connections in the surrounding community as a result of her position as its public health nurse, making house calls to patients who need additional care, whether that is because they were just discharged from the hospital, need end-of-life care or simply need further education on specific health-related issues.
Scott Yusko, a senior nursing major, was one of the students in charge of putting on this year’s event. This year’s theme, “Lights, Camera, Take Action,” was voted on by the students in Yusko’s Community Health class and is the reason why most of the activity tables were based on familiar children’s movies.
These included the “Beauty and the Teeth” station that taught children about dental health and the “Just Keep Swimming” station that taught about swimming safety.
Caitlyn Krolicki, also a senior nursing major who helped organize the health fair, explained how the activity at the fire safety table based on the movie “Paw Patrol” worked.
She said that families used a doll house to strategize and come up with an escape plan in case of a fire. She said that the activity encourages families to think about their disaster plans in their own home.
Each table also offered parents the chance to enter a raffle to win a DVD of the movie that its theme was based on. The Erie Fire Department was also at the event teaching children about fire safety and offering tours of a fire truck. The event was catered by Jimmy Johns and admission was free for all.
“The students organized it from the beginning and it was rewarding to see our hard work come together,” Yusko said.
KYLE JOSEPH
