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A s the 15th-century historian Thomas Fuller once said: “Health is not valued till sickness comes.”

That’s why students at Georgia College & State University’s Center for Health & Social Issues (CHSI) intertwine health screenings with other attractions like fun and food.

Public health majors and student nurses gather wherever the populace is likely to be found. At monthly food drives, neighborhood meetings or holiday gatherings—they can be seen chatting and laughing with residents; giving finger prick tests for diabetes; tightening blood pressure wraps around residents’ arms and handing out health materials.

“We try to meet the public on their terms and on their turf, and people are just blown away by these events,” said Dr. Damian Francis, epidemiologist, assistant professor of public health and director of CHSI.

“Our success in a community is going to depend on community buy-in and whether residents really support what you’re doing,” he said. “That’s why we go into the community often. Residents see us, and they know we’re committed to them and to their health.”

Since taking over the center in 2020, Francis has led more than 60 Georgia College students in conducting health screenings. In that time, they’ve assisted more than 1,000 residents in Baldwin County and more than 200 in Hancock, Houston and Macon-Bibb counties.

Their major function is operating a pop-up health clinic and assisting with a drive-thru food distribution, occurring the third Wednesday of each month at the Collins P. Lee Community Center on Harrisburg Road, Milledgeville. The Middle Georgia Community Food Bank provides a truckful of fresh and canned foods. Items are boxed and handed to residents who line up early outside in their cars—as many as 300 a month—for the 10 a.m. event. Sometimes, local churches and Habitat for Humanity also provide free clothing onsite.

While residents wait, they're greeted by students who conduct health screens and pass out information sheets. Each month, they focus on a different health topic like heart disease, obesity or Alzheimer’s and refer people without doctors to clinics.

On a hot day recently, about eight nursing students darted car-to-car offering their services and talking about prostate cancer. About half the residents agreed to have their blood pressure checked and finger pricked for diabetes.

Tanner Cobb of Savannah organizes this event each month. He graduated last year with a degree in public health and is now getting a master’s in health and human performance. Originally, he wasn’t sure what to do in life. But, once he started health screenings, Cobb wanted to multiply the great feeling he got from helping others.

Cobb is a Type-1 diabetic and understands the importance of preventive health measures.

“I’m really open to serving and doing any kind of health promotion I can, because ever since I started, I haven’t stopped, and I love doing it,” he said.

Dr. Talecia Warren, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, often accompanies her nurses to the monthly food drive. Being in the community is different from hospital settings, allowing students to meet residents on a more personal level.

It also helps them keep track of patients. They see familiar faces each month, which enables them to ask residents if they remember to take their medicines. They rejoice when blood pressure levels improve.

“Getting to see patients that I have not seen outside the hospital and to see them out in the community doing well—that feels good,” Warren said. “The best feeling in the world is knowing that you actually made a difference.”

“One of the things I love about the liberal arts is getting to know your community. As a nurse,” she said, “I know it doesn’t just stop at the hospital. If you meet people where they are and give them the resources they need, then that decreases their need to go to hospitals which are already overfilled.”

Senior Avery Urban of Atlanta chose nursing because she enjoys science and likes being social. After graduation in December, she might do labor and delivery. Meeting everyday people from all walks of life is preparation for that.

“It definitely feels good to help people,” Urban said.  “This school offers a lot of different options to go into the community and do that. It’s nice to be able to give back to a place that’s given us so much.”

In addition to the monthly food drive, about 10 public health students help Francis plan and promote other monthly events. These include health screenings and education in various neighborhoods, on campus and in Baldwin County, Macon, Houston County and Sparta.

Each month highlights a different health issue. Sometimes, flu or COVID-19 vaccine shots are available.

Last month, CHSI held a mental illness awareness day at the Wellness Center on West Campus called “Rocking with Mental Illness.” Participants destressed by painting rocks.

Upcoming events include health screenings alongside barbecue at a fall festival, a breast cancer awareness parade, 5K run/walk and trunk-or-treat. In November, students will be at the Georgia Veteran’s War Home on Veteran’s Day to help residents quit smoking. In December, there’ll be HIV testing for World Aids Day.

These health screenings are in addition to several research projects Francis is also working on. These deal with food deserts in Baldwin County, developing a way to measure statewide obesity-reduction efforts and creating a common framework to measure racial disparities nationwide.

Having a finger in so many pies—in addition to teaching—is difficult.

But it’s also what drives Francis.

Growing up in Jamaica, he saw how lifestyle and social factors resulted devastated families through chronic illness. That made him go into epidemiology.

“What others see as community service,” Francis said, “I see as saving lives.”

 “My passion to improve health and wellbeing through research is driven by a sense of duty,” he added. “For Beethoven, it was his gift and passion for music that led to Symphony No. 5. For me it is the personal experiences and training that fuels my work in public health.”

Click here for more information on other research students at CHSI are doing.