United To Serve: UT Southwestern

Health Fair Signup

Alcohol Awareness

Volunteers will help people try on beer goggles to demonstrate how alcohol affects your perception, demonstrate standard quantities of a drink with beer bottles, wine glasses and shot glasses, discuss secondary effects of alcohol using pictures and hand out flyers about alcohol abuse resources.

Asthma

If you've had personal experiences with asthma or would like to learn more about it, this booth is the one for you! Come help us educate kids on what asthma really is, with emphasis on what causes it, what really happens in the body when an attack occurs, and what to do about it. We'll be doing fun demonstrations with peak flow meters, playing games such as "Guess the Risk Factor," and using props like balloons to teach people how the respiratory system works.

Blood Diseases

Would you want the pipes to your sink to clog up? Of course not! Well, why would you let that happen to your body? In this booth, we will be educating the community about Sickle Cell Trait and Sickle Cell Disease (and possibly Iron Deficient Anemia) and how they can affect someone who suffers from these afflictions. The goal is to raise awareness of these blood disorders and provide resources and information about free screening programs so that they can get checked and treated. Volunteers will be given all the materials necessary and instructed on how to work the blood vessel models and help children make Sickle Cell Glitter Wands to take home.

Blood Pressure

The Blood Pressure booth is a great way to practice your blood pressure-taking skills while helping an underserved population become aware of the importance of monitoring and maintaining a healthy blood pressure. We are looking for volunteers who are eager to serve and have a deep interest in teaching people. We also have a great need for Spanish speakers because more than half of the visitors to this booth will be Spanish speaking only.

Cholesterol Screening

Check people's cholesterol and trig levels. Take blood from those screened to be at risk for high cholesterol and run lipid panels. Counsel those with abnormal results or refer to participating physician, if available. One Spanish-speaking volunteer will screen patients to see if they're eligible to be tested, and may also rotate in to relieve testing staff. There'll be a short session before the event to get familiarized with the testing equipment.

Dental

The Dental Screening Booth will be offering free dental screening for the Health Fair attendees. Volunteers will have the opportunity to hand out dental health information, free toothbrushes and floss, and teach kids and their families about dental health.

Diabetes

This booth will be testing blood glucose levels of the adult participants. The volunteers will be trained a week before the event. There will be a diabetes video playing while people wait to have their test done. There will be 4 stations performing the test with 2 volunteers per station. One additional station is specifically dedicated to education. This booth is a great way to get some clinical practice in, and also educate the attendees about diabetes. For a lot of attendees, this might be their only regular check up of their blood sugar levels.

Domestic Violence Awareness

The goals of are booth are to raise awareness of domestic violence in the community, to inform the community about the signs of an abusive relationship, to inform people about the resources available to victims of domestic violence, and to provide an outlet for sharing experiences and thoughts regarding domestic violence.

First Aid

We will teach basic first aid to families. We will demonstrate the proper way to do the Heimlich maneuver and allow people to practice their technique on a choking dummy. We will also show people how to do the Heimlich maneuver on themselves. In addition, people will be taught how to properly manage wounds and be allowed to practice bandaging a wound on themselves. Additional first aid information will be available on a poster in both English and Spanish. We hope to be able to give away some first aid kits to some of the families. Volunteers will need to take a short training session before the event to be able to effectively demonstrate the Heimlich maneuver and first aid techniques.

Free Clinic

Volunteers will provide information to fairgoers about clinics that provide free health services in the area for various needs. They will also provide information about signing up for Medicaid or CHiP. The booth is a great way to become familiar with some of the health care options for currently uninsured patients in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and to make community members aware of the resources available to them.

GERD/Colon Cancer

GERD is a widely prevalent condition that affects every community and is growing rapidly in the U.S. Early symptoms include acidity, nausea, indigestion. Preventative healthcare, education, and simple remedies can prevent the progression of GI irritation into full blown GERD. One aspect of this booth should focus on providing this information, including advice on harmful diets, the effect of NSAIDs, etc. Information should also encompass the signs of GERD and the medical steps affected individuals should be taking. Continuing with the theme of GI, colon cancer is a condition that can be better treated with early detection. Men over 50 are advised to get an annual colonoscopy. However, a very small percentage actually follow through with these recommendations. Our hope is that this booth will provide information on testing for colon cancer, where to go, what to do, and stress the importance of early detection.

Handwashing

Volunteers will explain the benefits of proper hand washing in preventing the spread of germs and demonstrate the proper technique to wash one's hands (no water or soap will be at the station). The main attraction will be the Glo Germ kit. Volunteers will apply a reasonable amount of Glo Germ gel on the hands of the participant, and then show under the black light how the Glo Germ gel glows. The volunteer will then tell the participant to go wash his or her hands in a bathroom using the proper techniques shown and to come back to the booth. The black light will be used a second time to assess how well the participant washed his or her hands. Volunteers will also hand out travel-size hand sanitizers to everyone who visits the booth.

Height and Weight

Have you ever wondered what your ideal weight should be? Do you ever feel like the scale is lying to you? A more reliable way to gauge your body fat composition is body mass index (BMI). In this booth, we will be measuring body weight and height of individuals in order to screen for weight categories at risk for health problems. The goal is to educate individuals what BMI means and give them a better understanding of what it means to be overweight and obese. Volunteers will be given instructions on how to do the calculations, handouts, and all necessary materials.

Home Safety

Our booth will focus on the top five leading causes in home injury: Falls Poisonings Drowning Fires and Burns/Scalds Choking/ Suffocation Interactive Portion of the booth: Making a house with the Med Museum geared for children. Throughout the house we’ll have a couple of hazards that must be identified by them as they walk through. The top five leading causes in home injury will be present throughout the house to be identified. While guests are waiting in line for our booth, we could explain how to change batteries in a smoke alarms, teach stop, drop and roll, etc. When they finish the house, we’ll have someone at the end asking them what hazards they found and how they can prevent them. That same person could tell them the additional hazards that were around the house.

Immunizations

This booth will highlight the importance of receiving complete vaccine coverage in both children and older adults. It will emphasize the local resources available through which vaccines can be obtained, school district immunization requirements, and the importance of getting the flu shot. We will have educational displays with timeline information, where to go, and basic information on why vaccines are important.

Medications

This booth will focus on providing information regarding common medications (mainly OTCs) and their common uses, side effects, and contraindications (for example, NSAIDs should not be used with a history of ulcers, or Aspirin should not be given to infants with viral infections). Will also provide information regarding common food interactions, and appropriate uses of antibiotics and the importance of finishing antibiotics when prescribed.

Men’s Health

Volunteers will teach males the self-testicular exam using models and will give out information on prostate and colon cancer, erectile dysfunction, and other men's general health concerns.

Mental Health

Do you feel stressed or overwhelmed at times? Most people do and there are easy things you can do to reduce your stress. The UT Southwestern Division of Psychology will provide wellness screens and psychoeducation about signs and symptoms of stress. Strategies for coping with stress symptoms (i.e., relaxation strategies, improved sleep hygiene, etc.) will also be offered. Individuals interested in receiving psychotherapy services in the community will be provided referrals with sliding-scale fees. The mental health booth will also provide information about learning disorders and ADHD.

Neurology

• recognizing headaches, different kinds, what to do, risks
• signs of stroke/risks for stroke
• cerebrovascular disease
• early signs of Alzheimer's
• value of sleep and general "healthy brain habits"

Nutrition and Cooking Demonstrations

Learn to substitute food components in traditional Hispanic dishes and snacks that are lower in fat, salt and sugar for lifestyle changes. We will present the public with a Nutrition Facts label. We will teach the public how to read a food label, beginning with the serving size. Then we will educate on how many grams of fat, grams of sodium, and grams of salt they should look for in a food item when grocery shopping. We will also indicate why it is important to limit your fat, salt, and sugar intake, and what health risks come with a diet high in fat, sugar and sodium. (i.e. obesity which leads to many diseases and cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, high cholesterol, atherosclerosis). At our booth, we will have food items that are in a typical Hispanic diet such as Hot Cheetos, tortillas, ramen noodles, sodas, juices, milk, cereals, oils, high fat meats like bologna, chorizo, franks, ice creams, cookies, yogurt, etc. When they come to our booth, we will have them pick a food item the usually consume and they will measure on a food scale the amount of sugar or salt or fat (or all three) the food item contains. We will also have containers that contain the total amount of fat, salt and sugar one should consume in a day and we will compare a food item to the total recommended daily amount. We will then ask them to build a meal and we will again measure the amount of fat, sugar and salt and compare it to the recommended intake. We will have a healthy alternative for every food item category and will provide them with necessary nutrition advice to try to get them to incorporate healthy substitutions at home.

Prevention and Treatment of Everyday Injuries

The Sports Injury Care Booth will include information about how to care for sports or other activity related injuries. Information will be provided regarding PRICE (protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation) and when to use each of these aspects. Other information will include ways to determine if the injury is serious enough to warrant a ER visit (i.e. fracture). Volunteers are needed to assist with patron education, passing out flyers and other information, and fun interactive activities such as crutch relay races, ice bucket challenges, and other fun sports injury management activities. This is a great booth to provide valuable information to all age groups and athletic levels. A new aspect that we were hoping to bring to this booth is 'Ouch, That Hurts!' The need for this arose from observation that a large number of people came up to different booths asking for advice on different aches and pains. This booth could potentially have a medical professional on site answering questions on musculoskeltal injuries, posture, etc.

Reproductive Health

This booth will have two separate focuses. Our table in the hallway will educate on healthy pregnancies and provide local health care resources. Our classroom session will only be open to parents (and children if accompanied by parents in accordance with DSID guidelines and TJ Rusk preference). A brief talk on sexual education will be available in English and Spanish along with educational materials for attendees.

Skin is In (Dermatology)

We would like to talk to and educate the local community on various dermatological diseases and disorders that mainly effect our Hispanic population including eczema, vitiligo, fungal infections, melasma, and acne. We will provide pamphlets and information to help people recognize these skin disorders and information on how they can seek medical help either by visiting one of our free clinics or seeing their own doctor as well as provide information on over the counter solutions (if available).

Smoking

This booth aims to prevent smoking and encourage cessation through education, health screenings, and interactive tasks. It includes educational displays, preserved normal and smoker's lungs, engaging lung capacity reduction simulations.

Sports Physicals

Volunteers will work with the residents at this booth to perform sports physicals on fair participants and will assist with crowd control and various parts of the physical examination process.

Toxicology

Volunteers will educate community members about toxic household items and their safe storage, poisonous organisms, and any potentially toxic interactions of home remedies and folk cures with prescribed medication.

Vehicle Safety/Car Seats

This booth will have several components. Our goal is to increase awareness about the importance of the correct use of car seats (which is surprisingly not well-known) and helmet safety. We will have a car seat safety technician demonstrating how to correctly buckle in children (for the parents) as well as a helmet-decorating station (for the kids). We will need volunteers to assist in passing out the safety literature and coloring books, but most importantly, to help the kids decorate their shiny new helmets! Getting the kids excited about wearing helmets is one of our main goals. Our volunteers will also help us ensure that each child gets a helmet that fits properly. This may get messy but it will definitely be fun!

Vision

The vision booth is a great way to enhance your interest in and gain experience in eye health. The population who attends United to Serve does not always have access to the regular eye exams which many of us take for granted. Thus, this booth is meant to provide them with a quick basic vision screening as well as information about ocular health and community resources for more in depth examinations. We’re looking for volunteers who are excited about ophthalmology and who would like to gain experience in the use of Snellen, Tumbling E, and Near Vision charts while sharpening their ophthalmic exam skills. Volunteers should be comfortable talking to patients about their vision exam and general ocular health. We especially need volunteers who are comfortable doing screenings and answering questions in Spanish.

Women’s Health

The United To Serve - Women’s Health booth will provide information regarding important women’s health issues, such as Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, the HPV vaccine, breast cancer, self-breast exams, and mammograms. We will present guidelines for breast cancer screening and Pap testing. Women will have the chance to practice the self-breast exam using plastic models. We will also provide informational handouts and instructional plastic shower cards for self-breast exams.