Professional football legend Joe Theismann will speak at noon on Saturday, June 18 at the Vascular Annual Meeting® in Room 354b. Due to his family history of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) disease, Theismann is lending his voice to improving AAA awareness and screening through his work with the Find the AAAnswers campaign.
Find the AAAnswers is an educational campaign designed to educate the public about AAA and encourage screening. The Society for Vascular Surgery® (SVS) Public and Professional Outreach Committee represents SVS as a Coalition member of the Find the AAAnswers campaign. A free screening event will be offered to Chicago-area residents at risk for AAA on Saturday, June 18 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The event will take place at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel which is directly attached to the convention center.
“By having Joe Theismann at the Vascular Annual Meeting, and inviting Chicago area residents to get screened, we are getting the word out to national media,” Dr. R. Clement Darling said. “If we can get the media to talk about this important cause, then we can get at-risk individuals to learn about AAA detection. We are very excited about this public outreach.”
The June screening event is part of a continued effort to offer free screenings throughout the country. In September 2010, Find the AAAnswers partnered with Kmart Pharmacies on a free screening program at select pharmacies. To date, this effort has provided free AAA ultrasound screenings to more than 1700 at-risk people.
With the help of Joe Theismann and Kmart Pharmacies, Find the AAAnswers made national headlines in the Wall Street Journal blog, on “The Dr. Oz Show”, and on “Fox and Friends”. Media coverage reached more than 20 million viewers.
There are several ways that SVS members may become involved.
–Volunteer to speak with patients about AAA and vascular disease for one hour at the screening event. Contact Becky Soja at 415-946-1080 or [email protected] about volunteering.
–Sign up to be part of the DoctorFinder directory. The free directory is found at FindtheAAAnswers.org. It allows patients to search for physicians in their area who are familiar with AAA and its symptoms.
–Volunteer onsite during local screening events throughout the year. Doctors may meet with patients to answer questions related to vascular health. If you wish to volunteer at a local screening event, e-mail [email protected]. Check FindtheAAAnswers.org for the latest screening announcements.
Learn more by visiting the site:FindtheAAAnswers.org.
