About 40 medical students from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine volunteered to help with the 9th annual Health Fair at Chandler Park Academy in Harper Woods.
The Jan. 22 event was held virtually this year with about 130 people from Chandler Park Academy (a K-12 school) and the Chandler Park community.
Organized by OUWB’s Student National Medical Association (SNMA), participants logged in via Zoom and were able to visit several breakout rooms (aka “booths”) hosted by OUWB student organizations. Each booth had a specific topic related to health care.
The event is held annually around the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“It was probably more important to continue the health fair this year more than any other because we have had so many changes and disruptions to our normal routines and yearly events,” said Kelvin Wise, district STEM coordinator, Chandler Park Academy.
“The health fair is an event that our community and students look forward to and it is important to continue that yearly expectation,” he added.
Kimberly Anyadike, an OUWB medical student and president of SNMA, said the OUWB students involved in the event felt strongly about continuing with the program.
“The message we wanted to convey by upholding our tradition of hosting the annual health fair with Chandler Park Academy is that SNMA is relentlessly invested in the health and well-being of the community that we’ve spent so much time creating a bond with,” she said.
Ashley Williams, an OUWB medical student and chair of Community Outreach for SNMA, said planning began last spring. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans went through several iterations before it was decided the event would be based entirely online.
SNMA worked with officials from Chandler Park Academy, along with OUWB Diversity and Inclusion, Compass (OUWB’s office of community engagement), Student Affairs, OUWB-Hispanic Newcomer Outreach, and others to develop a viable option.
“We really wanted to be able to have an event where we could engage the kids, engage the families, and have it serve as a kind of ray of light,” said Williams in reference to the social elements of the event.
Eight student organizations collaborate
The entire event was coordinated by the SNMA e-board set up and socially distanced as a command center at O’Dowd Hall. |
OUWB’s Family Medicine Interest Group, Pediatric Interest Group, Mental Health and Psychiatry Interest Group, and Wilderness Medicine Interest Group worked with students in grades K-5.
Assigned to students in the 6th through 12th grade, were the Ear, Nose and Throat Interest Group, Dermatology Interest Group, Neurology and Neurosurgery Interest Group, and Emergency Medicine Interest Group.
Topics discussed in the breakout rooms included COVID-19, head, eye, ear, nose, and throat (HEENT) examinations, mental health, acne and skincare, CPR, and more.
In one room, for example, the Wilderness Medicine Interest Group helped students understand different types of wounds, bumps, and bruises and appropriate treatments. In another room, the Pediatric Interest Group helped students understand what happens during a HEENT exam.
“It was much like the traditional health fair, wherein people were able to pop in and out of the fair as they pleased,” said Anyadike.
Additionally, SNMA funded the purchase of eight white coats for select students who participated in the HEENT sessions. (The coats will be delivered to Chandler Park Academy for students to pick up when it’s deemed safe.)
The entire event was coordinated by the SNMA e-board set up and socially distanced as a command center at O’Dowd Hall.
Majd Faraj, an OUWB student and vice president of SNMA, called the event an “attestation to adaptation.” He credited Williams for being the mastermind behind the health fair.
“(Williams) upheld the idea of being flexible this year and so many things transitioning to online,” he said.
Faraj said it was great to interact with the community members as well as see some of his classmates in person in the command center.
Damil Gbadebo, an OUWB student and SNMA treasurer, said it “was definitely great to engage with the students.” Gbadebo said he appreciated the opportunity to show the students that it’s possible for them to accomplish their goals, whether they want to become doctors or something else.
“We were there to show (the students) that there are ways pretty much of accomplishing whatever it is they want to do,” he said.
Anyadike added that it’s important to remember that the health fair serves as a two-way street when it comes to education.
“While we’re providing certain things to the community, we’re learning so much about the community’s needs, wants, and values — and that’s ultimately going to help us as future physicians,” she said.
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at [email protected].
To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.
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