This week Dr. Gabbe talks about Saturday's University Hospital East Community Day.
Hi! We hear a lot about community. We live in a community, there’s the campus community, the Medical Center is part of a community and we may be part of a community associated with a school, a place of worship, a sport --all of us Buckeye fans--or other hobby. We’re all part of many communities and at the Medical Center we reach out to help a large number of communities as well.
One community that we will be reaching out to this week is the community around University Hospital East. Saturday marks the annual University Hospital East Community Day. Every year, more than 60 volunteers from across the medical center including physicians, nurses, patient care staff and others turn out to assist with this event.
Free health screenings will be offered including blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, lung function, Body Mass Index, breast and prostate screenings, and school and sports physicals. And more than 30 community organizations will be on site with information about topics such as diabetes, epilepsy, nutrition, cancer and more. The OSU Dental van and dental students will also be there to provide screenings. Each year between 300 and 500 individuals attend Community Day. I’d like to thank Elizabeth Seely, Diane Gordon and the entire team at University Hospital East for this fantastic commitment to our community.
And, while we call this special day Community Day, we shouldn’t forget that there are many other times throughout the year when we focus on the many communities we are part of. In fact, last year, we provided more than $144 million in community benefit. This benefit comes in many forms including non-billed Community Health Services such as education classes, lectures, health fairs, support groups, screenings, free clinics, donated clinical time, immunizations, mobile units, hotlines and transportation assistance. It also includes subsidized care, cash and in-kind donations, medical education, research and community building such as participation on community boards, economic development and physical and environmental improvements to our community.
Our goal is simple. We want to make central Ohio a healthier community and we are working in partnership with other health care organizations to make this a reality.
If you’d like to report a community benefit activity that you are part of, please contact Deborah Frazier through email or call 293-2378.
On behalf of our community – thanks and have a great week!