JB
Frosh
Wag More, Bark Less
Posts: 17
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Post by JB on Apr 17, 2009 11:13:02 GMT -5
A Heart-Felt Effort to Save Young Lives
More than 5,000 District 204 high school students participated in the Young Hearts for Life Cardiac Screening program, conducted by the Midwest Heart Community Foundation to identify students at risk for sudden cardiac death. The heart screening effort is the first of its kind for Indian Prairie. Anita Skotnicki was one of 800 volunteers who attended a 90-minute training session and assisted with the screenings. Her daughter, Kerri, received the free, three-minute, EKG testing, which was completed during her normally scheduled physical education class. “It’s fantastic that Midwest Heart is doing this to protect our kids. I wish everybody could do this,” Anita said.
Board-certified cardiologists from Midwest Heart Specialists were on-site to review the results of the heart tests. Waubonsie Valley PTA President Patty Smith said the high school has wonderful volunteers who are always willing to help when they’re needed. “Even if we don’t find one abnormality, the worry is lifted off these parents’ minds, just to know their kids are safe and healthy,” she said.
This initiative represents a partnership between Midwest Heart Community Foundation, District 204, the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation, and the Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley PTAs.
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Post by WeNeed3 on Apr 17, 2009 20:22:41 GMT -5
A Heart-Felt Effort to Save Young LivesMore than 5,000 District 204 high school students participated in the Young Hearts for Life Cardiac Screening program, conducted by the Midwest Heart Community Foundation to identify students at risk for sudden cardiac death. The heart screening effort is the first of its kind for Indian Prairie. Anita Skotnicki was one of 800 volunteers who attended a 90-minute training session and assisted with the screenings. Her daughter, Kerri, received the free, three-minute, EKG testing, which was completed during her normally scheduled physical education class. “It’s fantastic that Midwest Heart is doing this to protect our kids. I wish everybody could do this,” Anita said. Board-certified cardiologists from Midwest Heart Specialists were on-site to review the results of the heart tests. Waubonsie Valley PTA President Patty Smith said the high school has wonderful volunteers who are always willing to help when they’re needed. “Even if we don’t find one abnormality, the worry is lifted off these parents’ minds, just to know their kids are safe and healthy,” she said. This initiative represents a partnership between Midwest Heart Community Foundation, District 204, the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation, and the Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley PTAs. I volunteered today. It was quite amazing. Tons of students and volunteers. Very well run. I'm excited they are hoping to do this every two years.
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Post by asmodeus on Apr 17, 2009 22:09:33 GMT -5
I am interested to know how many of the 5,000 kids were recommended for further evaluation and how that percentage compares to the rates normally found by screenings in a more typical setting.
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Post by warriorpride on Apr 18, 2009 7:52:57 GMT -5
I am interested to know how many of the 5,000 kids were recommended for further evaluation and how that percentage compares to the rates normally found by screenings in a more typical setting. Well, my daughter wasn't identified as needing further evaluation. So, in case you were wondering, they didn't tell EVERY kid that they needed it (so that they could make a ton of $, as your theory goes). A much less negative spin on this would be to ask how many kids did they indentify a real problem that may have gone unnoticed otherwise (or maybe, how many lives couls have been potentially saved by catching a potential problem now). After all, that WAS that point of this (not to scam a bunch of people out of $, as your theory goes).
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Post by chicoryowl on Apr 18, 2009 8:25:59 GMT -5
I am interested to know how many of the 5,000 kids were recommended for further evaluation and how that percentage compares to the rates normally found by screenings in a more typical setting. I seem to recall hearing that 25 or 30 kids were recommended for further evaluation. May have been a few more or less than that.
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JB
Frosh
Wag More, Bark Less
Posts: 17
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Post by JB on Apr 18, 2009 8:27:11 GMT -5
A Heart-Felt Effort to Save Young LivesMore than 5,000 District 204 high school students participated in the Young Hearts for Life Cardiac Screening program, conducted by the Midwest Heart Community Foundation to identify students at risk for sudden cardiac death. The heart screening effort is the first of its kind for Indian Prairie. Anita Skotnicki was one of 800 volunteers who attended a 90-minute training session and assisted with the screenings. Her daughter, Kerri, received the free, three-minute, EKG testing, which was completed during her normally scheduled physical education class. “It’s fantastic that Midwest Heart is doing this to protect our kids. I wish everybody could do this,” Anita said. Board-certified cardiologists from Midwest Heart Specialists were on-site to review the results of the heart tests. Waubonsie Valley PTA President Patty Smith said the high school has wonderful volunteers who are always willing to help when they’re needed. “Even if we don’t find one abnormality, the worry is lifted off these parents’ minds, just to know their kids are safe and healthy,” she said. This initiative represents a partnership between Midwest Heart Community Foundation, District 204, the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation, and the Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley PTAs. I volunteered today. It was quite amazing. Tons of students and volunteers. Very well run. I'm excited they are hoping to do this every two years. We'll be doing it next year as well, at all 3 schools, so hopefully we'll get all the incoming freshman, plus any that were missed this year. Then we'll do the testing every other year.
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Post by asmodeus on Apr 18, 2009 12:57:07 GMT -5
My concern has to do with the ties that the non-profit MHCF has with the for-profit physician groups that have been funneling industry donations through these types of charities.
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Post by momto4 on Apr 18, 2009 17:54:43 GMT -5
My concern has to do with the ties that the non-profit MHCF has with the for-profit physician groups that have been funneling industry donations through these types of charities. Do you think they are reporting false positives? I don't understand the concern.
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Post by asmodeus on Apr 19, 2009 11:06:16 GMT -5
The comparison I had brought up in an earlier thread was to that of an auto repair shop offering free car inspections. The owner of the repair shop is not doing the inspections out of the goodness of his heart, but rather as a way to drum up business by finding things that need repair (or, in the case of unscrupulous shops, telling the customer they need repairs they really don't or even breaking things that then need fixing). One could argue that as long as the shop is honest, it is a good thing for the customer by notifying him of potential hazards. But it is still a profitable situation for the shop as you can bet the revenue generated exceeds the cost of the "free" inspections. This pattern is seen in many other businesses, including the medical community. There are companies offering free or low-price physicals, which in turn lead to further testing and/or treatment at the patient's expense.
This heart screening is sponsored by a non-profit organization...but that organization happens to be an arm of a for-profit physicians group that uses drugs from companies that have made big donations to the non-profit. One could argue that it's a win-win, but I always like to know the motivations of various parties before I become a customer/patient.
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Post by WeNeed3 on Apr 19, 2009 17:45:28 GMT -5
I assume these people are told to follow up with their own physicians. How do these doctors reading the EKG's benefit?
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Post by sportsmom on Apr 19, 2009 18:53:51 GMT -5
The comparison I had brought up in an earlier thread was to that of an auto repair shop offering free car inspections. The owner of the repair shop is not doing the inspections out of the goodness of his heart, but rather as a way to drum up business by finding things that need repair (or, in the case of unscrupulous shops, telling the customer they need repairs they really don't or even breaking things that then need fixing). One could argue that as long as the shop is honest, it is a good thing for the customer by notifying him of potential hazards. But it is still a profitable situation for the shop as you can bet the revenue generated exceeds the cost of the "free" inspections. This pattern is seen in many other businesses, including the medical community. There are companies offering free or low-price physicals, which in turn lead to further testing and/or treatment at the patient's expense. This heart screening is sponsored by a non-profit organization...but that organization happens to be an arm of a for-profit physicians group that uses drugs from companies that have made big donations to the non-profit. One could argue that it's a win-win, but I always like to know the motivations of various parties before I become a customer/patient. Asmo: I understand what you are saying, but its baseless with this program. Historically only a small percentage of kids are referred. My own WVHS JR. has a "heart problem" and sees a cardiolgist annually. I disclose it on the health form and just this fall was the frist time I was asked for a Cardio Doc letter. I told my son NOT to do the screening as he's already been checked out (diagnosed when he was 4). But, due to the incentive offered to the kids (extra credit) he did it. I was actually quite surprised to get a negative result. I truly think they are looking more for HCM (the sudden death that Zamarri Doby and Rosie (Neuqua) collapsed and died from). My son's condiditon is not life threatning - it needs to be monitored for change. I think the testing is legit and I'd back off.
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Post by asmodeus on Apr 20, 2009 7:17:15 GMT -5
If you don't mind me asking, does your son require medication? Does he need to avoid participating in certain physical activities?
The reason I ask is that the results of this screening prove to me that it is a huge amount of work for very limited return. Someone mentioned 25-30 kids (out of 5,000+) were advised to have further testing. Of these, many will find out they were false positives. And according to the MHCF, an EKG is only 40% successful in exposing these problems.
My point is that purely from a risk/reward perspective, time would be better spent trying to prevent injuries or deaths that happen much more frequently, such as car crashes. And there is nothing to prevent people from having this heart check (or one more thorough) done at their regular physical. Your son's false negative seems to support my point.
I wish your son the best.
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Post by wvhsparent on Apr 20, 2009 8:00:02 GMT -5
If you don't mind me asking, does your son require medication? Does he need to avoid participating in certain physical activities? The reason I ask is that the results of this screening prove to me that it is a huge amount of work for very limited return. Someone mentioned 25-30 kids (out of 5,000+) were advised to have further testing. Of these, many will find out they were false positives. And according to the MHCF, an EKG is only 40% successful in exposing these problems. My point is that purely from a risk/reward perspective, time would be better spent trying to prevent injuries or deaths that happen much more frequently, such as car crashes. And there is nothing to prevent people from having this heart check (or one more thorough) done at their regular physical. Your son's false negative seems to support my point. I wish your son the best. asmo saving 1 life makes it worth it to me.........how many would it have to save for you to be worth it? What if that 1 kid saved was yours?
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Post by momto4 on Apr 20, 2009 8:13:15 GMT -5
If you don't mind me asking, does your son require medication? Does he need to avoid participating in certain physical activities? The reason I ask is that the results of this screening prove to me that it is a huge amount of work for very limited return. Someone mentioned 25-30 kids (out of 5,000+) were advised to have further testing. Of these, many will find out they were false positives. And according to the MHCF, an EKG is only 40% successful in exposing these problems. My point is that purely from a risk/reward perspective, time would be better spent trying to prevent injuries or deaths that happen much more frequently, such as car crashes. And there is nothing to prevent people from having this heart check (or one more thorough) done at their regular physical. Your son's false negative seems to support my point. I wish your son the best. While your assessment makes sense from a numbers perspective, this was/is expected to be a huge effort that may contribute directly to saving a very small number of lives. But that single life matters greatly to that person and their family and friends. The sudden death suffered by students with undetected heart conditions is in some cases preventable by this very sort of testing and if it were my child identified by this testing, I would be immensely grateful that the opportunity had been presented. This is very different from preventing accidents, and I am sure different efforts are made toward this goal as well...
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Post by chicoryowl on Apr 20, 2009 12:46:58 GMT -5
If you don't mind me asking, does your son require medication? Does he need to avoid participating in certain physical activities? The reason I ask is that the results of this screening prove to me that it is a huge amount of work for very limited return. Someone mentioned 25-30 kids (out of 5,000+) were advised to have further testing. Of these, many will find out they were false positives. And according to the MHCF, an EKG is only 40% successful in exposing these problems. My point is that purely from a risk/reward perspective, time would be better spent trying to prevent injuries or deaths that happen much more frequently, such as car crashes. And there is nothing to prevent people from having this heart check (or one more thorough) done at their regular physical. Your son's false negative seems to support my point. I wish your son the best. asmo saving 1 life makes it worth it to me.........how many would it have to save for you to be worth it? What if that 1 kid saved was yours? Or put another way, 2 children in our district have died. Isn't it great that we live in a district that is trying to prevent these deaths with a simple test.
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