I-10 Coalition Blood Drive
“We’re a medical school dedicated to training people to save lives, but we didn’t want to wait another two years to have some sort of positive impact on patients, even indirectly,” explained BCOM second year medical student Robert Lyday of the Internal Medicine Club’s decision to join forces with United Blood Services and NMSU for this year’s annual I-10 Coalition Blood Drive.
In late September, United Blood Services visited the BCOM campus where 71 units of blood were donated within just five hours, almost doubling the original donation goal of 35-45 units. Even more people wanted to donate but were unable do to time constraints and limited space.
Lyday pointed out that each unit of blood can help up to three people, and that the students also “educated about the process of testing and storing blood and the severe need for blood donation.”
The Internal Medicine Club plans to hold one drive each semester so, “each medical student can impact dozens of lives before actually treating any patients hands on,” Lyday added. “A special thank you to Monique Hilverding, the United Blood Services liaison, Brett Newcomer, Stephanie Ayala, Fernando Magana, Chris Kim, Christopher Hooshmand, and Saurin Patel who all helped plan and run the event.”
Purple Gala
The BCOM chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association volunteered at La Casa Inc.’s Purple Gala. This first annual event honored survivors of domestic violence and raised funds to continue helping other victims.
“It was a beautiful event at the Las Cruces Convention Center and many prominent members of the community were present at the gala,” explained BCOM student Joya Singh. “We even ran into our very own Dr. Frazier at the gala! Although the group of volunteers was organized by AMWA, several non-AMWA members also signed up to volunteer and it was a great way for us to get involved with the community. I’m always so proud when our classmates volunteer their time into giving back to the community.”
Hurricane Relief
Just days after Harvey touched down in Houston, BCOM’s Student Osteopathic Surgical Association (SOSA) launched a thermos sale to raise funds. SOSA’s Harvey Relief Fund raised $1,600 which was donated to Team Rubicon, an organization that, “unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. With over 48,000 volunteers across the country, Team Rubicon has responded to over 200 disasters across the United States and the world.”
Another BCOM student group, the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, raised money for a cause close to their hearts, the Texas Diaper Bank, a program that gathered and distributed diapers and pediatric supplies for those affected by the hurricane. BCOM students Sara Javadi and Katie Vidal organized a bake sale fundraiser. They and other ACOP members—Carly Kennan, Roy Thomas, Stephanie Sandoval, Ann-Sophie Van Backle, Liz McLeod, Royce Sumayo, Roxanne Waggoner, Anjali Kakkar, and Michelle Jeu—baked a variety of tasty treats that ended up raising almost $700 for the Texas Diaper Bank.
