SMHS faculty, fellows, residents and medical students participated in a free health screening and educational event in recognition of Veterans Day in Landover, MD, on Saturday, October 29, 2011. GW Faculty from the Departments of Emergency Medicine, Urology, and Ophthalmology participated in the event and the GW Medical Faculty Associates was an official event partner.
“I am truly proud of our faculty, residents and students who provided medical screening tests at this important event,” said Dr. Jeffrey S. Akman, interim vice provost for health affairs, Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “Providing health information and screenings for our country’s veterans is one thing that we, as clinicians, can do to thank men and women who have given so much for our country. Exposing medical students to this type of service is a big part of learning to give back as a physician.”
Among the screenings that took place at the event, a team of 10 from the Department of Emergency Medicine provided education and ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) for the veterans and their families who participated in the event. AAA screenings were recommended to veterans age 65 and older with a history of smoking or a family history of AAA based on the recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guideline. Three ultrasound-screening stations were set up, with the help of Phillips Ultrasound and the staff from the Men's Health Network and the Screening Fair. The group conducted 71 abdominal aortic examinations over the 5 hour event, identified 3 at-risk veterans with abnormal screening exams, and communicated these results with the patients’ physicians. This was the first time AAA screening was available for attendees.
The health screening and educational event took place between 10 a.m. -3 p.m. and received hundreds of participants. A comprehensive series of free health screenings were available including prostate exams provided by the MFA Department of Urology and vision assessment provided by the MFA Department of Ophthalmology provided vision assessments. Other health screenings available were: cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, osteoporosis, spirometry, body fat, and grip strength.
“It is a tribute to the organization, effort and enthusiasm of all faculty, staff, and students that the screening event went off without a hitch,” said Dr. Hamid Shokoohi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine who provided AAA screening for the first time at this event. “It is a great experience to give back to veterans and provide them with comprehensive screening tests, like the AAA screening test. Thanks to the efforts of our clinician volunteers and many others, the screening project was a great success, and we look forward to building on that success in the future to screen even more people for AAA.”
