Bridge to Care, a student-led interprofessional organization at UNMC that focuses on refugee health, held its annual fall health fair on Nov. 11. The fair was hosted and planned in collaboration with Benson High School.
A total of 338 Somali, Karen, Karenni, Chin, Burmese, Arabic, Spanish and Nepali speaking refugees in the Omaha area received direct health care screening and health education during the event. More than 40 UNMC students volunteered during the event.
Bridge to Care student leadership coordinated involvement of students across all health professions on the UNMC campus, including the UNMC Colleges of Medicine, Public Health and Pharmacy.
Two UNMC student-led organizations — EMPOWER, which works with women affected by domestic violence, and the SHARING Clinics, an interprofessional organization — also were involved in providing outreach at the event.
Students from neighboring universities, including the Creighton Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy, College of Saint Mary Occupational Therapy, and Nebraska Methodist College also were involved in providing health care services alongside more than 20 community-based clinics and health organizations. Services included flu shots, vision, dental, blood pressure, lead testing and glucose level screenings for refugee families.
Bridge to Care is a Legacy Project supported by the UNMC Office of Community Engagement and the Center for Reducing Health Disparities in the College of Public Health.
For more information on Bridge to Care and its outreach, please contact Drissa Toure, M.D.
Drissa:
Congratulations and thanks for serving those most in need.
Antonia