NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2006

Contact: Lisa Merkl
713.743.8192 (office)
713.605.1757 (pager)
lkmerkl@uh.edu

BLOOD PRESSURE, BROKEN HIPS NOT GOOD HALLOWEEN FRIGHTS
Free Health Screenings Offered at Methodist Hospital by UH Pharmacy Students

The University of Houston and The Methodist Hospital want to make sure the only things going bump in the night this Halloween are ghosts and goblins – not your blood pressure.

UH College of Pharmacy students will offer free health screenings, such as blood pressure checks, osteoporosis screenings and diabetic foot exams, at The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center the week before Halloween. Offered in conjunction with Methodist’s Pharmacy Services Department, the screenings are 9 a.m. to noon, Monday, Oct. 23; 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 25; and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, Oct. 27.

Coordinated by Methodist pharmacy residents, many of whom have been UH graduates in recent years, Pharmacy Week at The Methodist Hospital is offered in observance of National Hospital & Health-System Pharmacy Week Oct. 22-28 and American Pharmacists Month in October.

In addition to the screenings by UH pharmacy students, Methodist’s pharmacy staff and residents will distribute educational materials on cardiovascular health and diabetes, play pharmacy trivia games, offer “get to know your pharmacist” sessions and provide public tours of pharmacy operations in the hospital setting.

The UH College of Pharmacy participates in approximately 50 community wellness events throughout the Houston area each year.

WHAT: Free Health Screenings
WHEN: 9 a.m.-noon, Monday, Oct. 23
1-4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 25
11 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday, Oct. 27
WHERE: The Methodist Hospital
6565 Fannin Street
WHO: UH’s College of Pharmacy & Methodist’s Pharmacy Services Department

To receive UH science news via e-mail, visit www.uh.edu/admin/media/sciencelist.html.

For more information about The Methodist Hospital, visit www.methodisthealth.com.

For more information on National Hospital & Health-System Pharmacy Week, visit http://www.ashp.org/pr/event/pharmweek.cfm.

For more information on American Pharmacists Month, visit http://www.aphanet.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PublicRelations/AmericanPharmacistsMonth/default.htm.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.