IMU Staff and Students Made a Difference for a Better Society at Rumah Charis

28 April 2018 was a remarkable day for IMU staff and students who provided healthcare screening services as a contribution to the society. The society targeted was the community at Rumah Charis. On that day, Rumah Charis had its charity bazaar where people from all walks of life came to support the elderly and underprivileged young apprentices. All kinds of beverages and home accessories such as cooking utensils and ketchups were on sale at very affordable prices.

Since it was for charity, we decided to use this platform to showcase our healthcare services under the banner of IMU Cares. On the very day, we provided health screening for blood pressure, blood glucose and body mass index (BMI). The health screening saw a total of 38 participants. The response was good and expected, knowing the main purpose of the charity bazaar. The participants or we can say the Rumah Charis community were all non-fasting as they came to the health screening after consuming the delicacies prepared during the bazaar.

IMU students were on hand to willingly help at this event and gain experiences. They were Jerome, Vanessa See, Eugene Lim, Sarah Sofia, Xiao Thung, Yann Herng, Nermesh Singh and Amanthi. These students were so dedicated to helping out at the event that they even prepared specific materials for it such as medical record slips and guidelines for blood pressure, blood glucose and BMI. IMU staff assisted in monitoring these students in the measurements and counselling points given by them.

As their medical record slips were filled up, the participants were counselled by a medical doctor (a lecturer from School of Medicine, Dr Khin Saw Yu), on their health status, especially those are suspected of having hypertension, high blood sugar and abnormal BMI and ways to modify their lifestyle. Other staff from the School of Pharmacy who supported this event all day long were none other than A/Prof Kang Yew Beng, Dr Liew Yun Khoon (Louis), Dr Gan Sook Yee, Dr Sajeesh K Veetil, Dr Gurbind Singh, Dr Ho Ket Li.

Upon counselling, feedback forms were provided to the participant and the results indicates that the participants were very happy on the services provided to them. They are also finally aware of their respective health status. The event ended with happy smiles on the faces of the students who have gained a lot of experiences. Indeed, it was a tiring yet useful day for the public to know the importance of their health.

At the event, we found out that approximately 60% of these participants knew IMU very well and around 80% did not know about IMU Cares. Staff along with students were helpful enough to engage with the participants and have few insights about the establishment of IMU Cares. Besides the services provided on the very day, most of the participants suggested for us to provide services on lifestyle consultation, ear, nose and throat (ENT) check-up and free public health talk. Surprisingly, some of them would even consider going through Alzheimer and arthritis health screening if the screening was provided.