Attendees at Husker Harvest Days this week will be able to receive free
sense of smell and pulmonary function tests provided by physicians from
the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Health System. Husker
Harvest Days will be held Sept. 14 to 16 near Grand Island.
The pulmonary function tests will be available throughout all three
days, while the sense of smell tests will be offered after 3 p.m. on Tuesday
and all day on Wednesday and Thursday. The tests will be conducted in the
Nebraska Farmer Hospitality Tent.
The sense of smell tests will be administered by Donald Leopold, M.D.,
who was recently named professor and chairman of the UNMC Department of
Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. A leading international authority
in nose and sinus problems, Dr. Leopold joined UNMC Aug. 1 after serving
as chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Md.
Susanna Von Essen, M.D., associate professor in the Pulmonary Medicine
Section of the UNMC Internal Medicine Department, will administer the pulmonary
function tests. Dr. Von Essen has done this testing during previous Husker
Harvest Days, and there has been an enthusiastic response from fair goers.
Dr. Leopold said the sense of smell tests will provide important research
data to determine if farmers are at increased risk for smelling loss. The
test will take about 10 minutes and will involve a questionnaire and a
scratch and sniff test for 12 different smells.
The pulmonary function test involves breathing into a tube which measures
how much air the person is moving when they breathe, Dr. Von Essen said.
Farmers are at increased risk for pulmonary problems due to their exposure
to grain dust and hog confinement facilities.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment and solid organ transplantation. More than
$34 million in research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists
annually. In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for
training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than
any other institution.
NHS is the partnership of Clarkson Hospital, the first hospital in Nebraska,
and University Hospital, the primary teaching facility for UNMC. The combined
hospital is an 835-bed facility and serves approximately 25 percent of
the Omaha-area market. NHS operates clinics and health care centers serving
Omaha, Plattsmouth, Gretna and Auburn in Nebraska; and Council Bluffs and
Shenandoah in Iowa.
In addition, NHS physicians operate more than 300 outpatient clinics
in 100 communities in four states. NHS provides access to tertiary and
primary care including world-class specialized treatment such as solid
organ transplantation, burn care, wound care, geriatrics, bone marrow (stem
cell) transplantation and other cancer treatments. NHS affiliate hospitals
include Shenandoah Memorial Hospital and Community Hospital in Fairfax,
Mo.