AMHERST, N.Y., -- More than 205 Buffalo area refugees received free routine health screenings from physician assistant students and faculty at the third annual Daemen College Refugee Health Fair held on April 26 in Jewish Family Service of Buffalo and Erie County.

Screenings were offered for blood pressure, glucose, respiration, vision, heart and lungs, and ear, nose and throat to the city’s growing refugee population.

Daemen nursing students also distributed health-related information on immunizations, navigating the local health system, prescription medications vs. herbal remedies, and winter preparedness and health issues.

As part of the event, fun exercise stations with jump ropes, hula hoops and other items were set up for attendees.

“This event was a great opportunity for our students to connect with our region’s growing refugee population and to bring important preventive health services and information right into the community,” said Cheryl Bird, executive director of Daemen’s Paul A. Saffrin Center for Sustainability and Civic Engagement. “The exercise stations were also a big hit with the refugees, including many who used a hula hoop or jump rope for the first time.”

Daemen’s Refugee Health Fair was co-sponsored by the Saffrin Center for Sustainability and Civic Engagement, the college’s Physician Assistant Studies and Nursing Departments, and Jewish Family Service of Buffalo and Erie County.