08/27/2012
The Pediatric Ophthalmology & Adult Strabismus Service participated in the August 4, 2012 Back to School Health Fair offered by the Children’s Hospital University of Illinois.
Dr. Genie Bang, who joined the Peds Service in July, welcomed the opportunity for community service. “I’d be happy to do this yearly,” she said. “It’s a great event, and we did catch kids who should be further evaluated, which is always good.”
This was the second annual free health fair organized by the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System as a way to reach out to our community and reduce health disparities. Over 50 faculty, staff and volunteers, including Dr. Bang and Dr. Iris Kassem from the Pediatric Ophthalmology Service, provided all required health screenings and immunizations for going back to school.
The entire first-year class of Ophthalmology residents contributed their time, as did third-years Dr. Erica Oltra and Dr. Josh Hou. The department’s first-year residents are: Drs. Kaitlyn Wallace, Sachin Jain, Ernest Lee, Bryan Kim, Asim Farooq, and Michael Andreoli.
Two hundred kids of all ages lined up to receive school physicals, vision screenings, dental screenings, TB and lead testing, and immunizations as well as education, counseling and resources about nutrition, diabetes, asthma, and sickle cell disease.
Dr. Usha Raj, Head of Pediatrics, said, “We know that getting physicals done prior to school entry is sometimes hard for parents because all pediatricians are being asked for appointments for health physicals. And as the time approaches for [students] to go back to school, it’s important that they get their physicals done and their immunizations up-to-date. So we do this as a public service for our patients, and in the community.”
To learn more about the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Service, click here.
