One Health in Action: Community Outreach
Read more about Midwestern University's numerous community outreach efforts, including Medical Missions in Guatemala and domestic violence shelters in Arizona.
Members of the Maricopa County Sheriff 's Office Search and Rescue division in Arizona and the FBI met with faculty and students from the Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine, the Glendale Campus Department of Anatomy, and the College of Veterinary Medicine for a lab workshop to help them differentiate human bones from animal bones. Bone samples and photos from similar human and animal physiological structures were presented side-by-side for participants to identify, physically handle, and differentiate.
The College of Pharmacy – Glendale, the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the College of Veterinary Medicine jointly presented a disaster preparedness lecture series that addressed animals in disaster, mental health in disaster preparedness, and information from the Glendale Emergency Command Center.
The College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove Student Council restructured their sponsored community outreach program to create an interprofessional health outreach program called MWU S.E.R.V.E. (Students Enhancing the Health of Residents in the community Via Education and Screenings). The first MWU S.E.R.V.E. event took place in collaboration with the College of Dental Medicine-Illinois. The committee organized an oral health education event with the SEASPAR EAGLES, a community-based day program for adults with disabilities.
The veterinary medicine faculty and students partnered with Arizona’s largest domestic violence shelter to train the staff and volunteers to recognize pet abuse as a sentinel for domestic violence and to recognize fear of pet abandonment to abusers as a potential cause for remaining in abusive environments. One Health Center faculty participate in monthly teleconferences with state, local, and Federal agencies addressing both human and animal health issues. Midwestern University is the only academic institution represented in this novel collaboration.
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences faculty and students joined over 80 Midwestern University volunteers in traveling to Guatemala for the annual two-week medical mission affiliated with DOCARE International. While there they treated over 2,000 patients, provided care for their companion and food chain animals, and helped ensure the safety of their water sources.