Campus Health Fair provides county health accessibility
by Brian Shults, se news editor

    Reaching out to the 21 different ethnicities on SE Campus, the Fifth Annual Health Fair and Cultural Awareness luncheon provided students and community members information about their health and accessibility to care in the Metroplex.

    “The instances of diabetes in the community is very high and many people do not see the symptoms until several years after they have it. People should always get their cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure checked regularly,” Dr. M. Basheer Ahmed, chairman of the Muslim Community Center for Human Services in Arlington, said.

    The community center specializes in aiding Eastern immigrants who are faced with language and cultural impediments throughout the health industry.

    “Many people from Muslim communities do not acknowledge the problem of domestic violence in the home,” he said.

    The Muslim Community Center also offers counseling services with people who are culture oriented.

    The services extend beyond domestic violence as well, including education seminars that establish a line of communication between parent and child who were raised in entirely different cultures, Ahmed said.

    Ahmed’s clinic recently established a hotline for people in need of these services: 817-589-9165.

    Paula Martinez Malone also spoke of education bridging gaps between local citizens concerning health issues.

    “I believe education is the key to undo all the myths surrounding epilepsy,” she said.

    There are numerous types of seizures including partial seizures, where the individual may remain fully conscious, but appear intoxicated and unaware of their surroundings, Malone said.
    “Families need to be educated about the symptoms so they can recognize these types of seizures and help,” she said.

    Malone is a customer services specialist with the Easter Seals, an organization devoted to education and service within the local population.

    Breast cancer is another disease in which patients rely on early detection, exams and education to combat it.

    “Ninety percent of breast cancer is found in women with no family history,” Beatrice Nealy, executive director of the Cervical and Breast Health Awareness Program, said.

    Nealy stressed the importance of every woman’s conducting monthly self-exams and yearly clinical exams, coupled with a mammogram to ensure proper prevention and detection.

    “One in eight women will have breast cancer, and the risk increases with age,” she said.

    However, breast cancer is not limited to women only.

    Approximately one percent of breast cancer cases are men, Nealy said.

    The Urban-Intertribal Center of Texas is offering its services to the growing Native American population in the Metroplex.

    The center provides medical, mental and dental services out of Oakcliff in Dallas, Marc Harrison, executive director, said.

Harrison also added a bit of history concerning his Comanche tribe.

    “I am proud to say the Comanches were the last tribe to surrender to the U.S. government in 1879 … The land west of I-35 through Texas and Oklahoma was our original homeland,” he said.
In Texas the Native American population is rapidly rising.

    The Metroplex has 31,000 Native Americans while Texas has 118,000 and 110 tribes, according to the 2000 census.

    Just 10 years ago there were only 65,000, Harrison said.

    Dr. Monica Alba and Dr. Juan Meneses from Colombia spoke to the Hispanic population in the audience by giving their speeches entirely in Spanish.

    Acute respiratory infections are especially serious in Colombia because of the distance between people and quality care.

    The need for early detection is imperative to everyone’s ability to prevent the illness, they said.

    During the fair, 178 flu, 27 pneumonia, 4 tuberculosis and 4 hepatitis vaccinations were administered.

    The fair was organized by Veronica Warrior, health services coordinator; Joan Moyer, disability support services coordinator, and Pert Durapau, student services director, with assistance from Gay Nell Harris, senior secretary.