Despite their busy schedules, several of Arcadia’s Physician Assistant (PA) students and faculty members volunteered at a local community heart screening at Cheltenham High school on Oct. 1.

The event was sponsored by Simon’s Fund, a local charity that provides free heart screening for students 10-19 years of age. Arcadia’s PA students assisted by taking vital signs and escorting children and their parents through different stations of the screenings.

Every year thousands of children die from sudden cardiac arrest. Most of the time, these conditions can be found by conducting a simple electrocardiogram (ECG) or echocardiogram (ECHO). Once found, these conditions can be treated.

Due to the collaborative efforts of all the volunteers, more than 200 students were screened at the event. Special thanks goes out to the participating faculty Renee Langstaff and Judy Joseph, and the students: Elyse Archila, Jorden Dowler, Colleen Didas, Susan Bentley, Alex Stone, Jordan Bebber, Angela Millham, Raechel Baker, Liam Sperl and Dan Metz.