VCU students and faculty provide free health screenings at 11th annual Wellness Block Party

By Anne Dreyfuss
C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research

Third-year Virginia Commonwealth University pharmacy student Jessica Roller arrived at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School for the VCU Wellness Block Party at noon Saturday. The 33-year-old, who also works as a pharmacy intern at the VCU Medical Center Ambulatory Care Center, ended her shift as a clinical nurse at the VCU Medical Center Emergency Department at 11:30 p.m. the night before.

“I like events like this because we have more of a chance to talk with people,” Roller said. “In the ER, it’s more about getting patients in and out.”

Roller was one of about 80 VCU students from a range of academic disciplines who volunteered at the 11th annual Wellness Block Party providing free health screenings, wellness education and follow-up resources to approximately 500 children and adults from the Richmond community.

“Jessica was very informative,” said 27-year-old Lucy Bonney, who attended the fair to have her blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels checked, and to check out the healthy lifestyle resource booths. “Sometimes you go to a doctor and they might not talk a lot or give you enough information, but Jessica provided a lot of insight and was very detail oriented.”

At the health fair, students from a variety of health disciplines worked alongside one another providing health screenings, helping fair attendees navigate through the resources and registering participants, as well as doing face painting for children and distributing bagged lunches. FeedMore attended for the first time this year to distribute fresh, organic fruits and vegetables to patients as they left the event.

“I have always been interested in giving back to the community,” said event chair Nisha Gnawali. “The community aspect is really what drew me to this event.”

Gnawali, a second-year graduate student in VCU’s Department of Health Administration, estimates she has spent about 20 hours a week preparing for the student-led health fair since last summer. She said events such as these help prepare her for a future career in health care administration and provide an opportunity to interact with students with whom she otherwise would not cross paths.

Roller, who spent her morning volunteering with students from other academic disciplines at PALETTE, an intergenerational arts program that partners VCU students with senior adults in the community, said the block party is an example of VCU promoting interprofessionalism among students.

“We have had opportunities to work with physical therapy and dentistry students, as well as students from the medical and nursing schools,” she said. “Ultimately it benefits patients, because by learning now how to collaborate and come together to put the patient at the center, we will be better prepared to deliver the highest quality care to our patients when we start our careers.”