Healthy City

The Hampton University School of Nursing's community programs empower citizens: Hampton citizens receive free literature on health care in the Hampton Roads area. In collaboration with the Peninsula Institute for Community Health, the School of Nursing provides free health screenings, first aid, and health education for the homeless on the Peninsula. Both the Hampton University Center for Minority Family Health and the Center for Health Disparity Reduction are funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Hampton University helps raise cancer awareness in Hampton. HU's Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation was awarded a $10,000 grant by the American Cancer Society to help mobilize the campus community and the community at large to address cancer disparities by partnering with the American Cancer Society. Grant funds are used over two years to implement several awareness and fundraising activities at Hampton University and in the City of Hampton.

Hampton University is constructing a Proton Therapy Institute. This project will bring state-of-the-art cancer treatment to the City of Hampton. There are only six other proton treatment centers in the country. Proton beam therapy is a type of radiation that can precisely target tumors while sparing surrounding tissue and causing far fewer side effects than traditional radiation. The city of Hampton has donated six acres of land off Magruder Boulevard to Hampton University to construct the proton beam therapy center. The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute is slated to open in 2010.

Hampton University strives to make Hampton a healthy city: Hampton University hosts several health related events, forums and centers for the Healthy Hamptonians 2010 wellness initiative. The Healthy Hamptonians 2010 initiative is in support of the national health agenda "Healthy People 2010-Wellness for Life." The department of Health Education, the School of Pharmacy, the department of Physical Therapy and the Behavior Sciences Research Center all work together to help Hampton citizens better understand health. The University hosts a free Tobacco Awareness Festival annually, where the public is invited to learn more about health disparities. The event features special guest speakers and information sessions. Hampton University also has a Drug Information Service (DIS) center that is available to the city. The DIS is a free resource center that provides answers to drug information questions that can not typically be answered in standard references accessible to most pharmacists.