Thousands of underprivileged kids are given a better chance at life through the ACT Head Start Health Fair.  The Medical Society along with a variety of other agencies will hold the one-day health screening at the Phoenix University School (previously Phoenix Preparatory Academy) on Saturday - September 12, 2009. 
 
The Society needs 50 physicians, physician assistant and nurse practitioner volunteers; 20-30 medical volunteers and 35-45 non-medical volunteers to help with this very worthwhile project.  Three shifts are available to physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners - 7:00 am to 12:00 pm, 11:45 am to 3:30 pm, and an all day shift.  Others are required to serve for the entire event (7:00 am - 3:30 pm), due to the training involved.  All volunteers will be asked to stay for their entire shift.  A free lunch will be included. 
 
Portions of the exam can only be performed under the supervision of a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner.  Each are assigned an exam booth and an assistant.  All the paperwork and releases are collected beforehand by the Head Start staff so that you can concentrate on what you do best - treating the patient.  It is not necessary to be a primary care physician or a pediatrician.  The examinations are general in nature and most subspecialties qualify to perform them. 
 
We also encourage you to involve your staff (age 18 or older) in this event.  Nurses and medical students are assigned to a booth to assist the examiners or to take blood pressures. Non-medical volunteers will help with heights and weights, assist with traffic, entertainment and child supervision.  We are especially in need of bilingual (Spanish, English and Asian) volunteers, as well as those experienced in administering Hearing Exams and Cleanings. 
 
More than 40,000 children have received medical screenings at this event.  We expect over 2,000 kids to attend this year, which means we will likely perform 800 exams in our area.  Many of these three to five year olds have never seen a physician and about 10% will need follow-up care.
 
Please donate a few hours of your time to this worthy cause.  Not only will you make it possible for the children to enter the Head Start program, you will allow them to get the medical care they need.  Your time can make a difference for these preschoolers.
 
To register:
Non Physician Form
Physician Form

For questions, contact Lisa Silva at 602-252-2015. Please register by August 14, 2009.  Thank you for volunteering your time and we look forward seeing you there! 

Do you have an alcoholic patient, newly sober or with long-term sobriety, who has special needs affecting their ability to access Alcoholics Anonymous materials, meetings or fellowship support?  Perhaps they have a long term or permanent disability, or are recovering from surgery or an illness, making it difficult or impossible to attend A.A. meetings.  The Special Needs Accessibility Committee of Alcoholics Anonymous (SNAC) in Maricopa County has resources available to alcoholics with special needs.
 
Resources include: 

1. A.A. meeting tapes and CDs and A.A. literature in Braille or large print for the blind and/or visually impaired
2. Meetings and videos of the Big Book of A.A. in American Sign Language for the deaf or hard of hearing
3. Illustrated materials for the developmentally disabled who are disabled from alcoholism or other causes.
   

SNAC can also provide telephonic or in-person support for chronically ill, or home/facility bound individuals, including bringing A.A. meetings to these individuals in their home or residential facility.

 

If you have an alcoholic patient with special needs, please contact A.A.'s Special Needs Accessibility Committee at aa.specialneeds08az@gmail.com, or call Cynthia K., the Committee Coordinator, at 480-946-1384.  In the alternative, please feel free to share this contact information directly with your patients and their families or caretakers.

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) have released official standards regarding asthma evaluation for clinical trials and practice. The joint statement containing the new recommendations and underlying evidence base was approved by the ATS Board of Directors on March 13, 2009, and by the ERS Executive Committee on November 27, 2008, and it is published in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

"In the past, there has been no standard way of assessing asthma," Helen K. Reddel, MB, PhD, from the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Camperdown, Australia, and cochair of the ATS/ERS Task Force on Asthma Control and Exacerbations, said in a news release. "This has led to a lot of confusion for doctors who are managing asthma, and in research, it was difficult to compare the results of different studies."

Although evaluation and monitoring of asthma control are crucial to determining treatment response both in individual patients and in clinical trials, there have been a variety of definitions and assessments for asthma control, severity, and exacerbations. The ATS/ERS therefore convened a task force of 24 asthma experts from North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

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