Dear Readers,
A very meaningful charity initiative and event is coming up! The media release of the event is appended below. Do give your fullest support to the event for charity! Thanks!
NUS MEDICAL STUDENTS CYCLE TO RAISE FUNDS FOR NEEDY PATIENTS AND CONDUCT FREE PUBLIC HEALTH SCREENING
1) Ride for Hope 2009
Two groups of medical students from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine will take time away from their undergraduate studies on 29 August 2009 to do their bit for charity.
One group will join wheelchair athlete Dr Wiliam Tan to raise funds for needy patients. The medical students will be going on an 80 km cycling expedition around Singapore.
Another group will conduct health screening for the public. Both endeavours will be flagged off by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan at the AMK Hub.
Ride for Hope 2009, as the students’ cycling event is called, will see about 40 cyclists make pit stops at six public hospitals, whose patients will benefit from the $100,000 that the cyclists aim to raise through sponsors and well-wishers.
“As doctors-in-training, we recognize the importance of providing holistic care for our patients, including addressing their psychosocial, medical and financial concerns. Through this event, we hope to raise funds to alleviate the financial difficulties of needy patients who are Singaporeans and Permanent Residents at six public hospitals in Singapore.” said Perry Liew, Medical Society Special Projects Director.
In planning for the event, the students, comprising a mix of second, third and fourth year medical undergraduates, benefited from the experience of Dr William Tan, who is fighting chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or cancer of the white blood cells (CLL).
“When I was first diagnosed with CLL in April 2009, I was both frustrated and devastated as I was not prepared to overcome this additional stumbling block in my life. Through the course of my treatment, I got to know other cancer patients who battled cancer, taking in their stride the various medical, social, psychosocial and financial challenges which they braved through and overcome. Together with the medical students from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, we hope to inspire and bring hope to more needy patients,” he said.
Apart from Dr Tan, the cyclists will include triathlete Mok Ying Ren, also a medical undergraduate at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Mok clinched the men’s triathlon gold medal for Singapore at the 24th SEA games in Thailand in 2007.
The cyclists will be flagged off on 29 Aug 2009 morning by Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Health from AMK Hub and finish their ride that evening at the National University Hospital.
How can the general public help?
A. Public Appeal for Funds
If you would like to support this cause by making a donation, please send a cheque, to be made payable to "Medical Society, National University of Singapore”. Please indicate “Ride for Hope” on the reverse side of the cheque.
Mailing Address:
NUS Medical Society
c/o The Dean’s Office
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
National University of Singapore
10 Medical Drive
Singapore 117597
B. Supporting our cyclists during the event
If you would like to support Dr William Tan and his team of cyclists on the expedition day, you can join them at the AMK Hub on 29 August 2009, 10.00am, where the flag-off takes place.
In conjunction with Ride for Hope 2009, a Public Health Screening Programme will also be held, offering free health screenings and providing free consultations for the public. You are encouraged to participate in this health screening as well.
Alternatively, the cyclists will also be making stops at the six public hospitals, so do come down and lend them your support! Please visit www.rideforhope09.blogspot.com for more details, or email us at enquiry.rideforhope@gmail.com
2) Screen for Life 2009
While some of their schoolmates set out on two wheels to raise funds for needy patients, another group of medical students will be wielding stethoscopes and other instruments of their training to conduct health checks for the public at the same time.
They will be joined by nursing students from the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies (part of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine) for the Public Health Screening (PHS) 2009. This is taking place as part of the National Day celebrations, under the theme of “Come together - Reaching Out, Reaching Up”. PHS is part of a series of events organized in line with the National Day Parade itself. Sponsored by AMK Hub, PHS 2009 will be held at AMK Hub from 29 August 2009 to 30 August 2009.
“As future doctors, it is our duty to help fellow Singaporeans lead years of healthy life. We believe strongly that preventive healthcare is the key to healthy living.” commented Tan Ze Ying, Project Director, Public Health Screening 2009.
The event will underline the call, for a healthy lifestyle, as well as provide free health screenings at a nationwide level. Targeted at early detection of chronic diseases to prevent death and morbidity, PHS aims to increase public awareness of health issues by providing free basic health screening services.
Participants aged above 21 years will benefit from free screening, consisting of a health screening questionnaire, screening of their Body Mass Index, blood glucose and blood pressure as well as free consultations by medical doctors and registered nurses.
Participants will also benefit from health education booths set up by the Singapore Heart Foundation, Singapore Cancer Society and Health Promotion Board. There will be anti-smoking exhibits as well as stations where Singapore Cancer Society representatives will hand out free colon cancer screening kits.
Lauding the students for their effort, Professor John Wong, NUHS Deputy Chief Executive and Dean of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine said, "The effort and work put in by the students in organizing the Ride for Hope 2009 and Public Health Screening 2009 is most admirable. It is heartening to note that as future doctors, they have shown keen interest in serving the community and encouraging Singaporeans to lead healthy lifestyles.”
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