Employees of “The W” will host their first health fair from 9 a.m. to noon on April 26 in the Hall of Champions. The event is free and open to the public.

Employees are partnering with Hy-Vee and the Waverly Health Clinic to host the event.

Dawn Wiegmann, registered nurse and director of Wellness & Health Promotion, said the health fair is an opportunity for “The W” staff to reach non-stu­dent members.

“What I’m hearing from my bosses, they kind of want an annu­al health fair for the community to do an outreach and we’re probably going to try and do it every year at Tour Week so then it’s not an inconvenience for the students,” Wiegmann said.

She said the health fair is meant to serve every demographic.

“Families can come in with their kids, get a lot of information and see different doctors,” Wiegmann said.

“Regardless of their age or how much they make, I’m trying to reach all ages and family status.”

Wiegmann said she usually had four months to plan for health fairs when she worked at other places, but with this health fair she is only allowed a couple of months to prepare.

“We’ve only been open since January, and then we decided af­ter talking to let’s just go for it,” she said.
Wiegmann said because “The W” is new to the area, President Ohle, Vice President for Adminis­tration Gary Grace and other staff members thought the health fair would be the best way to inform the community about what the fa­cility has to offer.

“To reach many people in a short time, health fairs are the way to go,” Wiegmann said.

Staff from Allen Women’s Clin­ic, which recently opened in Wa­verly, will also be at the health fair and talk to attendees about how to communicate with their children.

Along with a scheduled ap­pearance from some of Hy-Vee’s dieticians, dentists will offer free oral screenings and chiropractors will give massages. Wiegmann also asked eye doctors to attend the event.

The Waverly Police will provide children and their families safety tips in case a child goes missing.

“We will have fingerprinting for the little ones,” Wiegmann said.