As Florida State University graduate student Nicole Haberland prepares to launch her career in speech-language pathology, she knows that each client who enters her clinic will arrive with different needs.
This past weekend, she was able to practice her clinical skills and serve the community at the "FSU Health Expo: Bridging Community, Health and Research," held Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Wakulla County Community Center.
The event, part of FSU Discovery Days, brought together FSU researchers and community organizations to provide resources and information aimed at improving health.
Haberland and other graduate students provided some of the medical screenings available at the expo. She completed hearing tests for patients and referred those who didn't pass to an on-site audiologist for more advanced testing.
"It's incredibly rewarding to know that people who may not be getting screened or don't have the option to get screened can come to us," she said. "We can refer them to our clinic and find ways to work with them so they can get the help they need."
Visitors participated in free health screenings, attended presentations from FSU researchers whose work translates into better health outcomes, and gathered information from more than 50 organizations, including the Wakulla Senior Center, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic, the Alzheimer's Project and others.
"The FSU Health Expo in Wakulla is a powerful example of how academic institutions and communities can come together to improve lives," said Ursula Weiss, director of community engagement for the FSU Office of Research. "By connecting residents with vital health resources, research opportunities and local services, we're not just addressing immediate needs - we're building long-term partnerships that foster healthier, more resilient communities."
One of the community partners at the expo was the Wakulla Senior Center, which promotes public health through a variety of services, including transportation, Meals on Wheels, activities and educational presentations for adults 60 and older.
FSU faculty have made presentations at the center about fraud targeting senior citizens and other legal assistance topics. Saturday's event helped the center reach more people and connect with other organizations that could provide information at future presentations, said Felicia Hutchison, the activities coordinator for the senior center.
"Seniors and their families need help," she said. "Getting people the right information and resources is a huge part of our work."
Connecting people to the resources they need for good health is a focus of the research performed by Bonnie Spring, a Krafft Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine at the FSU College of Medicine and the director of the Florida Blue Center for Rural Health Research and Policy.
Spring spoke about her work and community-based participatory research, in which scientific and community expertise work together through the research process.
She develops and evaluates technology-assisted interventions that promote healthy changes in multiple chronic disease behavioral risk factors. Her previous work focused on projects in Chicago and Eastern Kentucky.
For patients who live far from the health care providers they need or who don't have the ability to travel to providers in person, digital technologies and telehealth offer a way to access treatment.
Spring is now working in Florida's Big Bend region, investigating what interventions will be most effective here.
"I have done the scholarly homework to try to understand the health status and the risk factors here, including what the problems are and where we can try to improve," she said.
Joining Spring for their own presentations were Dr. Karen Bartley, a family medicine physician at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Physician Partners-Wakulla, and Adam Hanley, associate professor in the Brain Science and Symptom Management Center at the FSU College of Nursing.
Research and clinical care are part of FSU Health, an initiative that brings together researchers, educators and clinical partners to transform health and health care in Florida.
"FSU Health is committed to advancing public health through collaboration, innovation and a deep respect for the voices and experiences of the people we serve," Weiss said.
FSU Discovery Days continues today with the College of Medicine Annual Medical Student Poster Session, an introduction to the nutrition-focused research center ICON-Health, and Clinical Catalyst, in which clinical partners from across the Tallahassee region present two-minute snapshots of some of the biggest challenges they face in their day-to-day practice.
Visit discoverydays.fsu.edu
