Nord-Bridge and U of L nursing students host health fair

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on December 3, 2024.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Members of Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre take part of the 13th annual Health Fair hosted by Nord-Bridge in partnership with the University of Lethbridge Nursing program Friday at the centre's gymnasium.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The 13th annual Health Fair hosted by Nord-Bridge Senior Centre in partnership with University of Lethbridge’s nursing students took place Friday to promote healthy living for older adults.

Abbey Bordian, a third year nursing student told the Herald that their annual health fair is part of their clinical rotation and all the students involved have been working to make it happen for a while.

“We have been working for a few months to invite community services around Lethbridge to promote health to the seniors. We basically got the seniors to tell us what kind of services they’d like to see and then we got vendors, so people come here, promote their businesses and promote health to the seniors,” said Bordian.

 She said they also gathered food donations and among the vendors were services like counsellors and home care services.

 “We have social workers, denture clinics, the fire department, The Watch, lots of people, the seniors were interested in hearing about them and hearing how they can make their communities safer,” said Bordian.

She said since Nord-Bridge Senior Centre provides older adults with opportunities to socialize and stay active, the health fair was also an opportunity to see other people, which in turn helps them with their overall health as socializing is important for their mental health.

“This definitely increases their socialization and we’re hitting all of those important things. We have services for mental health, services for physical health like reflexologists, services for financial help, lots of different things,” said Bordian.

Penni Wilson, U of L nursing program instructor said the health fair gives students and opportunity not only to connect with older adults and promote health, but also to learn what they are interested in, what some of their health concerns are and how to help them connect with the right resources through vendors attending the health fair.

 “Besides the health fair, students put together different health education sessions and activities with seniors. They spend a lot of time interacting with them and the health fair just became an annual event that is sustainable, that continues to this day, that vendors are expecting to participate in and Nord-Bridge members look forward to,” said Wilson.

She said this type of event is important because by promoting healthy living, they can get ahead of disease and this in turn can help older adults live longer.

“This helps them to age healthy in place, to be able to continue living independently for as long as possible and Nord-Bridge is amazing at helping them achieve that by offering a variety of programs that keeps them physically active, mentally engaged and also give them an opportunity to socialize,” said Wilson.

From the Nord-Bridge perspective, the long-standing partnership with the University of Lethbridge Nursing program has been beneficial not only for their members but for those who take part in their health fair as service providers and vendors.

Ashley Kern, programs coordinator at Nord-Bridge told the Herald that the annual fair is something members have come to anticipate as well as various vendors in the community, as this serves as an opportunity to establish a one on one connection with those who need their services.

“Our members get excited about the health fair every year. It’s a nice opportunity for them to get health related resources and supports all in one spot. They don’t have to go to all different clinics around town and ask for resources and get information,” said Kern.

 She added that they are also able to win prizes, eat a snack and socialize. She said some of them don’t even look at the vendors, they just show up to interact with others.

 “All the vendors we have are always changing, so that is something that keeps our members engaged with the Health Fair as they get an opportunity to establish connections with new vendors every year,” said Kern.

 She said the vendors also look forward to the Health Fair as Nord-Bridge offers them a spot in their centre to promote their services at no charge and provides them with a free lunch after the event is over.