Pharmacy students will offer free health screenings

LAWRENCE — Students from the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy will offer free health care screenings from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union. KU students, employees and the public are invited to attend.

KU members of APhA-ASP, a professional pharmacy group, will provide health care screenings for conditions such as osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Those who attend will get immediate results on all screenings.

School of Pharmacy student Hetal Girishkumar Shah is an organizer of the annual event that she says serves multiple purposes.

“Events such as this give students an opportunity to serve and to interact more closely with people in our community,” Shah said. “Pharmacists are among the most accessible health care professionals, and it’s important that we remind people that we do more than dispense medication.”

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 78 percent of adults in the United States with hypertension are unaware of their condition. KU School of Pharmacy assistant professor Tara Jenkins serves as faculty adviser to the school’s APhA-ASP chapter. She said the screenings are intended to identify potential health issues so the participants can then follow up with their primary care providers.

“National statistics tell us that there are many people in our community who are unaware that they have one or more of these very treatable conditions,” Jenkins said. “If you haven’t had your cholesterol, blood pressure or blood sugar checked recently, this is a great opportunity to do so.”

In addition to the screenings, students will provide information on topics such as women’s health, nutrition, heartburn, smoking cessation and sexually transmitted diseases.