News @ VCU School of Pharmacy
Educating the community, one moonwalk at a time
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School of Pharmacy students took part in two recent health fairs: the second VCU/MCV Campus Community Health Fair March 21, 2009, and the SOP’s third annual Community Health Fair April 17.
Holly Gurgle (P3) reports that the school’s health fair at Manchester Middle School went “really well. Each time that we put on these events, it gets a little better.”
This fair, in addition to 17 patient-education booths and diabetes and hypertension screenings, offered something different for children: health-education classes on topics such as heart health, nutrition and substance abuse, poison and smoking prevention. Children in second through seventh grades were invited to participate in the interactive classes while their parents visited the “adult” portion of the fair in the middle-school cafeteria.
“The children’s classes were a total hit,” says Gurgle. “Kids did everything from play bingo to learn the dance moves to the “Cupid Shuffle” to jump rope.
More than 70 School of Pharmacy students volunteered at the fair; overseeing their efforts were
Akash Alexander, assistant professor;
Amy Kennedy, community pharmacy practice resident; and
Evan Sisson, assistant professor.
The planning committee comprised Jon Carter (P3), Megan Danford (P3),
Deanna Flora (P3), Brad Martin (P1), Dina Patel (P3) and
Artie Strunk (P3).
Next year, Gurgle says, the plan is to move the SOP Community Health Fair to the fall semester.
The VCU/MCV Campus Community Health Fair took place at Armstrong High School. This fair, sponsored by the Student Government Association, is multidisciplinary: Pharmacy, dental, medical, nursing, physical therapy, public health and occupational therapy students planned and staffed the event.
In addition to 35 patient-education booths on topics such as osteoporosis, personal medication records and health-care reform, free services included dental, blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, BMI, HIV/AIDS and syphilis screenings. Student pharmacists worked 15 of the booths and helped conduct blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol screenings.
Children’s activities ran the gamut from “mad scientists” making slime and bubbles to hula hoops to child-friendly health-education games and a moonwalk.
School of Pharmacy planning-committee representatives were Jennifer Austin, Jon Carter, Holly Gurgle, Alexis Noble, Teresa Nguyen, Lina Saliba
and Jenni Witten (all P3 students). Helping to oversee the event were
Amy Whitaker, assistant professor of pharmacy;
Amy Kennedy, community pharmacy practice resident; and Cole Kildow, ambulatory practice resident.
The VCU/MCV Campus Community Health Fair – whose aim was to provide services to underserved members of the Richmond community – was a “huge success,” says Gurgle. More than 200 people received services, she says. “Over a third of the patients seen had no health insurance and many had not seen a primary care provider in several years.”
The next all-campus health fair has tentatively been set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. March 6, 2010.
VCU/MCV Campus Community Health Fair photos by Holly Gurgle, Teresa Nguyen and Alex Trang.
School of Pharmacy Community Health Fair photos by Tom Reinders.
Submitted By:
Cynthia McMullen
4/28/2009