Arts & Humanities Health & Wellness Society & Culture

UGA to celebrate 2012 National Public Health Week

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia College of Public Health will observe National Public Health Week April 2-8 with activities across the Athens campus.

Since 1995 when the first full week of April was declared National Public Health Week, communities across the U.S. have observed the week as a time to recognize the contributions of public health entities and highlight issues important to improving the public’s health. The American Public Health Association designates the week as a time to unite around a critical public health issue and focus on the goal of helping people live longer, happier, healthier lives.

This year, the theme “A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement!” addresses the issue of prevention and wellness as is applies to improving health in the U.S.

For an online list of events hosted by the College of Public Health, see http://www.publichealth.uga.edu/events/calendar. For more information on the American Public Health Association’s National Public Health Week, see www.nphw.org.

The week’s events are listed below.

April 2
Midnight – A street painting will be held at the Tate Student Center bridge in preparation for National Public Health Week activities.
10:10-11 a.m. – Healthy snacks will be passed out at the Science Library.
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Traffic Safety Trivia, with prizes for the winners, will be held on the Tate Student Center Plaza.
1:25-2:15 p.m. – Physical activity challenges, with prizes, will be held on the lawn of the Miller Learning Center.
2:30-3:20 p.m. – Hopscotch challenges will be held at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, Aderhold Building and East Campus Village.
4 p.m. – Dr. Linda Degutis, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s injury division, will give a lecture on injury prevention in room 248 of the Miller Learning Center. A reception will follow.
5:30-7:30 p.m. – Former inmate Chris Sandy will lecture on “Enduring Regret” in room 101 of the Miller Learning Center. As a 22-year-old, Sandy chose to drink and drive. He lost two friends and daily deals with the lifelong consequences. Pizza sponsored by the Future Health Promoters Club and a prize drawing will be available.

April 3
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Activities that include fatal vision goggles and alcohol serving size kits will held in the Tate Student Center to raise awareness of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
5:30-6:40 p.m. – The University Health Center will hold a cooking class in the center’s kitchen. The menu is vegetable fajitas and Tex-Mex rice. The cost is $5 for fees-paid students, and reservations are required by calling 706/542-8690.

April 4
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – The Future Health Promoters Club is sponsoring a banana handout in the Tate Student Center Plaza.
1:25-3:20 p.m. – Find a student wearing a “This is Public Health” T-shirt around campus and receive a squirt of hand sanitizer and disease prevention information.

April 5
2-3:15 p.m. – Sexual health information and condoms will be passed out in the Red Clay Café in the East Campus Village.
6-8 p.m. – The Future Health Promoters Club will screen the movie “And The Band Plays On” in a Miller Learning Center location to be announced.

April 6
10:10-11 a.m. – Mindfulness activities will be held at the Science Library.
12:20-1:10 p.m. – An elder abuse awareness flash mob will be held on the Tate Student Center Plaza.
12-2 p.m. Free fitness classes sponsored by the Future Health Promoters Club will be held on the Tate Student Center Plaza.
1:25-2:15 p.m. – A class yoga demonstration will be held on the Tate Student Center lawn. Health and wellness students will have information on how yoga has a positive impact on mental health.

April 7
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – The Athens AIDS Walk will be held starting at the Tate Student Center and continuing through downtown Athens. To register, see https://sna.etapestry.com/fundraiser/AIDSAthens/AIDSWalk/team.do?participationRef=1965.0.70624284. The cost is $10 and includes a T-shirt.