Washington State University Fall Health Fair will ‘connect the community and the students’

As the cold weather blows in, the seasonal sweet treats proliferate and the back-to-school germ exchange picks up speed, autumn is a great season to welcome a little extra support for your health. The Spokane Public Library and Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane have collaborated to bring the community a free fall health fair to help you get ahead of it all.

Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Shadle Park Library, take advantage of a slew of free services and resources.

“My collaboration with WSU School of Medicine started in 2019 when we first became the platform of practicum for the college of nutrition and exercises. From there, we worked with the student association to put on this fair. I think this is the fourth year,” said Juan Juan Moses, Spokane Public Library community educator.

WSU pharmacy students, the National Community Pharmacist Association and American Pharmacists Association will be on-site to provide vaccinations, blood glucose testing, diabetes management resources, and medication counseling. Range Community Health Clinic will provide flu vaccinations with valid health insurance cards for billing.

But it’s not all about flu season preparedness. Representatives from the Gonzaga neuroscience department will offer attendees a challenging change of pace with activities to fire up your neurons. The Spokane Fire Department will share fire alarm education (which becomes increasingly important as we all unearth the space heaters and holiday candles from storage), and they will of course have a fire truck in tow to dazzle the youngsters and young at heart.

The National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association will present information on hearing loss and offer preliminary hearing screenings that utilize tuning forks, not to test your pitch, but to test how well your ears can hear their frequencies.

The NCPA and Health Equity Circle will provide radon testing kits and general education on the danger of concentrated radon exposure. The radioactive gas radon is odorless, invisible and naturally occurring. Soils under your house naturally decay over time which causes the release of uranium. The uranium decays further to create radium, which later becomes radon. Although this decay is natural, its ability to become concentrated within a structure is what makes it hazardous. A kit can help you measure the level of radon in your home, and will let you know if you need to take preventative action to improve ventilation or insulation.

The Department of Health and AIDS Education and Training Center will also be on-site with University of Washington clinical outreach and continuing education coordinator, Carrie Van Ness. The AETC focuses on educating and training health care professionals to improve the quality of HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

The WSU Center for Native American Health, a division of WSU that specifically focuses on bettering health outcomes for Washington state tribes, will also be on-site to share information on the resources it offers to Indigenous students and community members.

Spanish translation services will be available for attendants.

“We are just thrilled to be able to connect the community and the students. I love being the connector. Obviously the students need a very public outreach platform. And our community will benefit from their knowledge … so it’s a win-win for everybody,” said Moses.

To learn more about the event, visit spokanelibrary.org or call (509) 444-5300. To request accommodations such as ASL requests, hearing assistance or other ADA inquiries, email sday@spokanelibrary.org.