UNE medical students offer free blood pressure public screenings to health-conscious Mainers
On Saturday morning, Nov. 7, several students in the University of New England’s College of Osteopathic Medicine were greeted by an influx of wellness-oriented residents, prospective students, and their families as they offered free blood pressure screenings for the public at UNE’s Campus Center in Biddeford.
The event was one of the medical students’ regularly hosted community blood screening clinics, where members of the public can get their blood pressure checked for free and discuss health-conscious decisions with future doctors who champion UNE’s mission to improve the health of the planet, people, and communities. It’s one of many community service projects offered by the student clubs in Maine’s medical school.
“Family medicine is all about getting involved in the community and really knowing your patients and making them feel like you can just be a friendly face all around the community in family medicine,” said Libby Shea, B.S. ’25, (D.O., ’29), president of the student Family Medicine Interest Group that co-hosted the event. “What we like to do is really get ourselves immersed in the community by offering services that we feel could help members of the public maintain their health.”
The Ouimattes were just finishing a tour held for Accepted Student Day when they happened upon the sign alerting them to the free blood pressure screenings. The clinic offered them two opportunities: for Frank Ouimatte to get his blood pressure checked and for his daughter, Sophia, who recently was accepted to UNE and wants to be a nurse, to learn from UNE’s medical students how to do that.
“I’m so glad I got to learn how to properly take someone’s blood pressure and to practice on (my father),” said a beaming Sophia Ouimatte. “I definitely enjoyed having this opportunity to talk to students who have already gone through the undergraduate program so that I can kind of see what their experience was and if I want to continue down that path.”
First-year student Aastha Bhatnagar (D.O, ’30), president of the Cardiology Student Organization, which also co-hosted the event, said having complete strangers walk into a blood pressure screening and ask the medical students questions perfectly simulates a real-life exam, offering one of many hands-on experiences medical students get at UNE.
“It’s the exposure to diverse populations that is really important. When we have no idea what to expect, we learn how to adapt and respond to that,” said Bhatnagar, who taught Sophia Ouimattes how to take her father's blood pressure.
Student clubs in UNE’s medical school are run independent of the University, and many conduct community service work with the goal of amassing the volunteer service hours suggested by the American Association of College of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). AACOM encourages medical students to engage in community service with the aim of helping to educate the public about the professional values and ideals inherent in osteopathic medicine.
The student Family Medicine Interest Group has hosted community blood pressure clinics for several years at various locations around Saco and Biddeford, most notably on UNE’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service — on which the student group’s next clinic is slated, on Jan. 18, 2027, at the First Parish Church in Saco.
“It’s one way we can give back to the community,” Shea said. “Taking blood pressures is one easy metric to determine how you're doing health-wise. And we've decided that, as students, it's a great way to practice our skills, but to also practice telling the community what they can do to take care of themselves.”
View media coverage of the event in NEWS CENTER Maine.
