By Ashley Bradley/ne news editor
Casey Holder/The Collegian
NE Campus health services will offer ways to help students, faculty and staff stay healthy through multiple health opportunities this month.
On Feb. 9, health services will sponsor free HIV and syphilis testing. A blood drive and marrow donor sign-up is scheduled Feb. 10 along with Heart Healthy Lunch.
The HIV and syphilis testing will take place 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in NSTU 1704. Results will be available Feb. 16. By getting tested, individuals could lower their risk of getting or passing a sexually transmitted disease. Syphilis is curable, and HIV can be treated if caught soon enough.
The blood drive and marrow donor sign-ups are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. by the chessboard and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the NTAB Lobby.
Sharon Vogelsong-Karpenko, a NE Campus student, said it is important to give blood for several reasons. Other than just giving blood to those who need it, she said giving blood is another way people can learn if they are healthy.
Years ago, her husband went to give blood and found out he was unable to because of a major health concern.
“They said his blood pressure was too low,” she said. “He ran around the building two times and still his blood pressure wasn’t strong enough. We couldn’t understand it because he was a healthy guy. After we went to the doctor to find the cause, they told us his heart had increased twice the normal size. If he hadn’t found out, he would have been dead within the year.”
He was 28 at the time.
To donate blood, donors must show picture IDs.
Blood marrow donors help cancer patients by replacing their cells with better, healthier cells, said Pat Marling, health services coordinator.
Heart Healthy Lunch is 12:30-1:30 p.m. in NSTU Center Corner. Because seating is limited, reservations are required by Feb. 5.
Speaker Sreenivas Gudimetla, Tarrant County American Heart Association board of directors president, will discuss cardiac risk factors and ways to prevent heart disease.
Marling organized the event and said heart health affects everyone.
“Even if you’re young, you may have a parent or grandparent who is dealing with heart problems,” she said. “Heart health is something you can’t start practicing at 40. It’s something you need to start now. It’s a lifetime commitment.”
The free lunch will include Mediterranean-style chicken breast, whole-wheat pasta Caprese, Caesar salad and bread sticks.
Every participant will also receive a gift bag with heart-healthy information and recipe books.
For more information or to reserve a spot, call 817-515-6056.
