As for the last several years, the free Community Health Fair for the community was organized at the offices of the Vietnamese Federation of San Diego with the participation of the Vietnamese Physicians Association of San Diego, Asian Pacific Health Center, the San Diego Vietnamese Pharmacists Association and the Vietnamese Federation of San Diego. Several pharmaceutical companies sponsored the event.
Early on Sunday June 4, 2006, members in the Organizing committee and the pharmaceutical representatives were preparing the premises for the activities of the day. Around the walls were flower arrangements and bonsai displayed for the Cultural Day on the day before, which added a festive character to the atmosphere.
At 10:00 AM, Mr. Nghiep Le, President of the Federation, welcomed all the attendees. Pharmacist Toan Huynh presented the program and instructions for getting the health services. Patients were registered in groups of 6-8, each receiving a form listing the services that were available: blood pressure checking, diabetes screening, Hepatitis B and cholesterol screening. Bone densitometry measurements were performed in a room near the entrance, to a large number of women and men over 50 and 60. Patients continued to the drug information table staffed by pharmacists, and finished in the consultation room where the doctors interpreted the results. Upon remitting the health form at the registration table, each patient received a raffle ticket.
At noon, Dr Ton D. Tran, Medical Director at the Asian Pacific Medical Center, started the program of medical topics. Dr Huong Le Nguyen spoke on Breast Cancer and the benefits of early detection through self-exam and exams at the doctor’s office. Dr Ton discussed on Hepatitis B, pointing to the high incidence in the Asian and Vietnamese populations. This is a silent disease which can lead to cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. Prevention is the best approach, thus blood test screening will help assess the status of the patients. In case of no immunity, three vaccination shots will protect the patient for a life-time. Please call the Asian Pacific Medical Center at 619-582-2360.
In the questions and answers section, Dr Ton and Dr Tuan Nguyen, gastro-enterologist in practice in San Diego provided answers to the questions from the audience.
Lunch was distributed to all, after which Mrs. Thuy Dang, Vice-President of the Federation, and Ms. Xuyen Vo handled the raffle session. Eight prizes were given to health fair attendees, including the pharmaceutical representatives and staff members.
One hundred seventy persons had their blood drawn, among the more than 230 persons attending the event. The Health Fair was ended at 2:00 PM, but the medical assistants doing the blood screening and densitometry tests stayed longer to spin the samples before sending to the laboratory for testing. The APHC will mail the results when available to the patients.
The Health Fair was a success due to the participation of many members in the community. We thank:
- The pharmaceutical sponsors: Astra-Zeneca, Gilead Sciences, Bayer Diagnostics, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Proctor-Gamble pharmaceuticals
- The Vietnamese Federation of San Diego
- The Vietnamese Physicians Association of San Diego
- San Diego Vietnamese Pharmacists Association
- Asian Pacific Health Center staff
- Dr Ton Tran’s medical staff
- Students of the Concord Career Institute
- and all the volunteers
for their contribution of time and resources, and look forward to similar opportunities to provide free services to the community.