Interprofessional health fair addresses community needs
April 26, 2016
On Sunday, April 24, Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon State University College of Pharmacy students organized a health fair at O'Bryant Square in downtown Portland. More than 100 volunteers from local universities and community groups gathered to provide health care screening and access to services for the homeless and underserved.
The screening fair – held in conjunction with the weekly free meal service "Potluck in the Park" in O'Bryant Square – included volunteer students and faculty from OHSU medical, nursing, dental, physician assistant and biomedical informatics programs and pharmacy students from OSU. For more than a decade, the fair has helped 200-plus underserved Oregonians annually.
The interprofessional and interorganizational group provided critical services including vision and hearing exams, reading glasses, medication reviews, women's health counseling, diabetes screenings and foot care. Community partners such as Sisters of the Road Café, Horns for the Homeless and Western State Chiropractic provided additional assessments and linkage to other services.
The Health Screening Fair is the capstone event of Health Care Equity Week, which featured student-organized lectures intended to raise awareness about disparities in the U.S. health care system.
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