Arkansas State University will be hosting a health benefits fair for all faculty and their families with a valid insurance card. The fair will be held in Centennial Hall in the Reng Student Union on Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m., featuring health screenings, various vaccinations and mammograms.

“The fair is hosted by the Human Resources department and provides an excellent opportunity for A-State employees to visit with their various benefits providers and obtain up-to-date benefit information,” said the Oct. 10 edition of the Daily Digest.

In addition, the fair will feature A-State affiliated organizations such as the Food Pantry, Torchbearers, Santa’s Wolves, the Black Faculty and Staff Association and the Latino Faculty and Staff Association. 

Woodsprings Pharmacy will be providing flu shots and COVID-19 boosters. The boosters will be Pfizer and Moderna. In addition, Hepatitis A and B, pneumonia, shingles and tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis vaccines will be offered. 

There will also be wellness screenings, provided by St. Bernards. For accurate results, they recommend fasting 12 hours before the procedure. 

The benefits fair is held every October. Planning begins almost a year in advance, where those involved begin working on gathering a list of potential vendors and deciding upon a theme.

This year’s theme is “Through the Decades.”

Kristen Helms, university benefits coordinator, said if attendants can’t find their insurance card, they can contact her to receive a temporary card. 

Helms encouraged people to prepare for the event by marking their calendars and getting their insurance cards ready. 

COVID-19 and flu shots do not require an appointment. However, mammograms will require an appointment and those interested to complete a patient registration form by Oct. 25. At 5 p.m. Appointments are on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

Mammograms will take place in St. Bernards’ Mobile Mammography Bus. 

“The mobile mammography unit features the latest in mammogram technology including breast tomosynthesis, a specific type of breast imaging that uses low-dose x-rays to detect cancer early,” said a St. Bernards press release. “This equipment … allows radiologists to view the breast in three dimensions, increasing cancer detection up to 20% in women with dense breasts.”

The fair has planned for 500 people to attend.

The event will also have door prizes. Attendants are given a punch card and will receive a punch for each booth they visit. 

“If you fill the card up and you turn it back into us, then we will give you our door prize,” Helms said. “We will enter you for additional ones from the vendors that are going to bring door prizes to and we’ll draw for those.”
For A-State employees that want to attend, they can email Helms at @khelms@astate.edu or call (870)-972-3454.

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