By Jessica Fanczi
Reinhardt University faculty and student nurses will work alongside other healthcare professionals during the Pickens County Health Fair April 27, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The event, to be held at Chattahoochee Technical College’s Appalachian Campus, will provide free health screenings for children and adolescents in Pickens County.
In collaboration with Piedmont Physicians and Advanced Practice Nurses, the group will measure hearing, vision, scoliosis, EKG, height and weight statistics in order to complete sports physicals at no cost for student athletes.
“We are so appreciative of the assistance from nursing students and staff from Reinhardt University’s Cauble School of Nursing & Health Sciences at the Pickens County Health Fair this year,” said Mary Ghorley, Director of Risk Management and Community Outreach at Piedmont Mountainside Hospital. “With their help, we’ll be able to offer low-cost lab work, free EKGs and school physicals to people in our community who need them. Reinhardt’s students and staff are smart, engaged and excited to learn and help. It is a pleasure working with them.”
This will be the third year Reinhardt students and faculty have assisted with the Pickens County Health Fair, which is hosted annually by the Jasper Lions Club, Piedmont Mountainside and Georgia Mountain Hospice. The group usually completes several hundred physicals.
Dr. Glynis Blackard, dean of the Cauble School of Nursing & Health Sciences, is proud of her students’ continued interest in giving back to the community where they attend nursing classes, as Reinhardt’s nursing courses are currently offered at Chattahoochee Tech’s Appalachian Campus.
“Volunteering is good for everyone,” said Blackard. “We find it very satisfying to interact and relate to people while helping them obtain something that is so important to their healthcare journey. We consider it a privilege and a blessing to help.”
In addition to the free screening, blood profiles will be available for a cost, and exhibitor booths will distribute free health information.
