CHICAGO: The 38th Health Fair at Vaishnav Samaj of Midwest Temple (Haveli) in Addison (a Chicago suburb) on Sunday, April 10, 2016 met with good success.
The goal was to provide medical check up to all those who may not be able to afford medical services due to insurance and medical coverage problems. It was sponsored by the VSM Temple, and Indian American Medical Association of Illinois (IAMA-IL)
Jayantibhai Thakkar was the prime coordinator. He said that the first Health Fair was started way back in 1989. He has continued this service for the last 27 years in other temples also. More than 10,500 patients have benefited so far.
In all 21 doctors and 90 Health care professionals provided their volunteer services on this day. Registration and front desk services were provided by Manubhai Shah, Bhupendrabhai Thakkar, Bhartiben Desai, Nareshbhai Dekhtawala, Amit Desai, Bharatbhai Thakkar and Rajanikant Modi.
Vital data such as height, weight, blood pressure, pulse, were checked for each participant. The Blood Sugar testing and diabetic consultation was provided by Kishore Chugh, Vivek Patel, Paragi Patel, Tushar Mehta, and Tejas Patel. Blood samples from 140 patients were collected and sent to the UIC laboratory for testing. The report will be reviewed by doctors and will be mailed to each patient within three weeks. Urine Analysis was performed by a number of volunteers.
Heart diseases are among the leading causes of death among the Indian population and Indians are four times more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease. Dr. Saktivel Sadyappan’s Laboratory at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, IL, researches genetic heart diseases and is collecting blood samples from Indians to study a genetic defect found specifically among South Asians.
The genetic defect they are studying has been linked to a disorder known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which can cause heart failure and sudden cardiac death. This year the Health Fair provided support for this genetic study and the volunteers collected 115 tubes of extra blood from voluntary participants for the study.
There were 4 EKG machines to provide EKG for males and females over age 55 and continually operated by many volunteers. Physical examination and physical consultation were provided by primary care physicians. Dental examination and consultation was provided by Dr. Neha Sheth and Dr Jagruti Gupta.
Bone Density Test was performed for women over age of 45.
Eye screening and consultation were provided by Dr. Motilal Raichand. Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) consultation was provided by Dr. Ramesh Patel and Dr. Nirav Thakkar.
Physical therapy was presented by Shailaja Kanal. Diabetic education and consultation was provided by Diptiben Shah and diet and nutrient advice provided by Dietitian Darshana Vyas. Many people received information and consultation in Gujarati.
The Temple provided tea, coffee, Batata Paua and light food to all patients and lunch for volunteers. Dr. Umang Patel thanked all volunteers on behalf of VSM Temple. Dr. Samir Shah thanked all volunteers on behalf of Indian American Medical Association of Midwest and Jayantibhai Thakkar thanked all volunteers for their continued support and selfless services to community.
Suri Swamy
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