Finishing The Year Strong
Our chapter ended the semester with a couple of events during the month of December.
World AIDS Day Education with Walgreens
"In honor of World AIDS Day, SNPhA partnered with Walgreens to host this annual event with the goal of spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS. Members of the Remember the Ribbon Committee set up their trifold educational poster, handouts from Walgreens about HIV testing, and handouts with free and low-cost HIV testing centers at a table in front of the Walgreens entrance. While greeting the Walgreens customers, some were curious to learn more about HIV and World AIDS Day. The most common questions asked included "What's the difference between HIV and AIDS?" and "Do only certain groups of people get HIV?" SNPhA members clarified these misconceptions for Walgreens customers, and also encouraged people to get tested. Students contrasted contracting HIV with catching the flu; while people can tell when they are coming down with the flu based on intolerable symptoms of fever and muscle aches, they cannot necessarily tell when they have contracted HIV since many are asymptomatic for years. After hearing this analogy, many finally understood the importance of getting HIV tested and knowing their status. World AIDS Day provided Remember the Ribbon an excellent opportunity to not only promote involvement of the committee, but to spread awareness of HIV and AIDS to a community that could certainly benefit from the knowledge." - Erica Morales
Nha Toi Health Fair
"The elderly Vietnamese population came early to get their blood glucose and blood pressure taken. We were fortunate enough to have students who were fluent in Vietnamese to counsel the patients on their readings. We were also able to give a presentation in front of all the patients about what diabetes is, the different types, how one succumbs to the disease, how to manage the disease, the complications of the disease and how one can identify the symptoms." - Ashley Kwan
"We gave a presentation on the topic of stroke and how to identify its signs and symptoms. We started by explaining how strokes are caused due to a lack of oxygen in the brain as a result of clots or weakened blood vessels. After teaching the patients the risk factors associated with stroke, the patients were asked to raise their hands if they thought they had any risk factors. Nearly the whole room raised their hands and from that we went on the teach them how to identify the signs and symptoms of a stroke through the BEFAST method. Finally, the presentation concluded with the lifestyle and diet changes one could make to reduce the risk for stroke. Overall this health fair was a great opportunity to reach out the to the community." - Julia Roh
Omega House Hospice Volunteering
"It was a pretty slow day at Omega House because there were only 3 residents, but we got to spend a lot of quality time with them and they seemed to really enjoy the company. When we first got there, we cleaned out a room that a resident had just left the day before. We had to bleach and clean all surfaces of the room. After we finished cleaning, we prepared dinner for all the residents. We then did several loads of laundry and some mopping. After we cleaned up from dinner, we got to sit with the residents in the family room and talk with them about their lives. We learned a lot about them and had fun chatting. A new resident came in later that night too and we made him feel welcome as well. Throughout our time there, we learned more about Omega House and HIV/AIDS." - Sarah Theriult
