UTC DNP students Nicole Ward, left, and Trinity Brown work during the Chattanooga Wellness Expo in the Wolford Family Athletic Center. Photo by Angela Foster.
Despite the rain, hundreds of Chattanooga community members came to McKenzie Arena and the Wolford Family Athletic Center on Saturday, Aug. 1, for the Chattanooga Wellness Expo.
Among them were 20 faculty members and students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
At the 25th annual event, UTC DNP students provided free screenings for blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol and other health indicators while also helping community members better understand their results and what steps to take next.
Farron Kilburn, a project manager in UTC’s College of Nursing, said the college has participated in the Chattanooga Wellness Expo for more than a decade through its partnership with the nonprofit Southeast Tennessee Health Consortium.
Kilburn, who has coordinated nurse practitioner and other graduate nursing student involvement for 11 years, said research tied to UTC’s involvement points to the Expo as both a community health effort and a student learning model.
Kilburn and Dr. Amber Roaché, director of UTC’s family nurse practitioner program and an associate professor in the College of Nursing, have helped lead research on the partnership model. Their work found that 84% of UTC family nurse practitioner graduates surveyed rated the experience of serving as a provider at the health fair as “very good” or “excellent”; 92% said the work was relevant to their nurse practitioner education; and 53% said they learned something new from the experience that informed their practice.
More than 90% of UTC nurse practitioner graduates go on to work in medically underserved areas.
On the community side, survey findings shared by the college showed that 94% of respondents said they would recommend the health fair to a friend, 85% said the experience made them want to be healthier and 77% said they were committing to a healthier lifestyle change.
Roaché said the combination of education and service is the point.
“I feel like these are hugely important because this allows the students to truly meet people in the community, meet their needs in the community,” she said. “We’re providing free screening services.”
Roaché said the event gives students a chance to practice core clinical skills while also talking with patients about diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and other health concerns.
“It’s just a really great opportunity for students to start connecting their learning and what they are getting taught in class with actual hands-on patient care,” she said.
Savannah Kelley is an assistant professor of practice in UTC’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and a family nurse practitioner student in the May 2028 cohort.
Dr. Kate McKinney, the Kay K. Chitty assistant professor in the College of Nursing, said the Expo gives students a better sense of the people they will serve and the role screenings can play in getting patients connected to follow-up care.
“We’ve had a really longstanding relationship with this health fair, and so we’re honored to be a part of it,” said McKinney, who—in addition to her UTC duties—spends two days a week providing patient care as a family nurse practitioner at CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital in Hixson. “I think it’s really good for students to play a part in these health screenings, but also to see and get a feel for this community and what they can do for their communities.”
She said health fairs can help move people into the healthcare system after a problem is first identified.
“A lot of times patients will come in and say, ‘I was told my blood pressure was high at this clinic and I’ve been sent in to see a provider,’” McKinney said.
That point also came up in student conversations at the Expo.
Family nurse practitioner students Trinity Brown and Nicole Ward, both members of the cohort scheduled to graduate in May 2027, said the event gave them a chance to meet people they had never met before, put classroom learning to use and help community members who may not be getting regular care.
“Health fairs are a good way to make community contact and do screenings,” Brown said. “A big part of what we do—and what we’re being trained to do as FNPs—is screenings, health promotion and education. So it’s a great time to get connected.”
Ward said one of the biggest lessons is seeing who comes to events like this and why.
“A lot of people that come to these health fairs don’t go to a primary care provider for regular screenings,” Ward said. “Getting an opportunity to reach out to them and talk to them and kind of see what their own situation is and then trying to make an impact while they’re here, because that might be the only chance that they see a provider for the whole year.”
Savannah Kelley, an assistant professor of practice in UTC’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and a family nurse practitioner student in the May 2028 cohort, said the Expo shows why bringing care into the community matters.
“If we can get a lot of screenings done and a lot of education and healthcare done in this one space for them for free, then that could really make a difference because this could be the only point of healthcare contact for somebody,” Kelley said.
She said barriers can be as basic as insurance, transportation or work schedules that keep people from getting to a doctor during the week.
UTC was among the sponsors of the Chattanooga Wellness Expo, along with Erlanger Health System, UnitedHealthcare, Morehouse School of Medicine, Kidney Foundation of Chattanooga, Tennessee Donor Services, Coca-Cola, Southeast Tennessee Health Consortium, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and Ambetter Health.
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Twenty UTC DNP faculty members and students participated in the annual wellness expo.
