Oakland University’s Movable Kitchen, blood pressure monitors and a multitude of pamphlets on HPV and stress management were some of the components of the “Heart Truths” event.
As part of African American Celebration Month (AACM) and Wellness Week, the event was hosted on Feb. 5 at the Recreation and Wellness Center at noon.
The Center for Multicultural Initiatives (CMI), University Recreation and Well-Being and the Graham Health Center collaborated on the event.
“This is the first available event this week,” fitness assistant Jordan Morgan said. “However, we do have [health-related] events that we scatter around the entire school year.”
Morgan reported that most of the attendees had healthy heart rates and blood pressure.
“It’s either average or slightly better than average,” Morgan said. “We have had people that like to come to work out, so it’s funny because that means their resting heart rates are usually higher than what they should be.”
This wasn’t the first time the CMI has collaborated on health-related events. Senior Retention Coordinator Denise Thompkins-Jones explained that the CMI wanted an event related to wellness as part of African American Celebration Month.
“We’d like to diversify all of our events to make sure that we’re touching on not just one aspect of folks, not one aspect of the culture,” Thompkins-Jones said. “And health is an aspect that we all can relate to.”
Thus, heart truths were not the only truths delivered to attendees — Graham Health Center Director and Nurse Practitioner Ann Rayford helped students check their immunization records.
“We brought with us today some information about helping to stress less, and some steps people can take to control their blood pressure,” Rayford said. “I also brought flu vaccines in case anyone was still in need of their annual flu vaccine.”
Human Papillomavirus pamphlets, dietary charts and flu infographics expanded on the health resources available. Rayford explained that there has been a growing interest in informing and providing prevention resources for the campus community.
“HPV or GARDASIL 9 is something that’s very specific for college-aged individuals,” Rayford said. “We are partnering with the Oakland County Health Department and they are going to be in the [Graham Health Center] office every other Thursday afternoon. They have been bringing COVID vaccines with them.”
To display healthy practices, Fitness and Well-Being Assistant Director Cortney Heileman was preparing curry yogurt dip and a “go fish snack mix.” The heart-friendly snack recipes were given and explained for students to try and possibly prepare at home.
“We took two recipes out of this book, the American Heart Association Cookbook,” Heileman said. “We wanted to pull out some recipes that are simple, inexpensive. They show all the nutrition facts so that way it’s really easy to understand.”
Morgan said that the overall attendance was slow-paced and Thompkins-Jones confirmed that events like ‘Heart Truths’ have been trying to increase attendance.
“Pre-COVID, our numbers were definitely higher,” Thompinks-Jones said. “In more recent years, COVID has impacted students, so I’m excited to be able to see it going back to pre-COVID numbers.”
With that enthusiasm, Heileman discussed the possibility of hosting more health-related events in collaboration with other campus organizations.
“I’m hoping that we can turn this into an annual event, a mixture of the CMI, Rec Center, and the Graham Health Center,” Heileman said. “To do a lovely collaboration so we can continue to help promote heart health in many ways.”
