The COPD Foundation Mobile Spirometry Unit (MSU) is headed all over the United States, bringing spirometry and COPD brochures to towns around the country. Through a partnership with the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC), the national membership organization for respiratory therapists (RT), RTs fly in to meet the MSU at each destination to perform spirometries and answer questions.
The MSU is a truck and trailer traveling to health expos, senior fairs, state and county fairs, and other events across the nation. The trailer is certainly eyecatching! Not only does its noteworthy appearance turn heads in exhibition halls, it also draws a lot of interest as it drives down the highway. The mobile billboard is emblazoned with gold and maroon graphics designed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, featuring facts about COPD and challenging passersby: “COPD: Are you at risk?”
Wild Success or BustThe MSU began its 2007 tour at the NBC 4 Health & Fitness Expo in the nation’s capital January 13th-14th. The trailer served as the cornerstone for the Foundation booth. Fabric dividers created spirometry stations for individuals to sit with a respiratory therapist. Once the Expo opened at 9 am, the line of attendees interested in taking a free spirometry test began to grow and grow. Individuals waited in line for up to forty-fi ve minutes to take the test. In just two days, 861 spirometries were provided to participants, and over 3,000 educational brochures and handouts were distributed. Most attendees did not know about COPD and were interested in obtaining more information. The opening show was a success.
At MSU events, participants have the opportunity to speak with COPD Foundation volunteers about obtaining more information, getting involved, and getting their questions answered. Brochures and fl yers are distributed with information on living with COPD, quitting smoking, and getting tested for both COPD and Alpha- 1—the primary genetic cause of COPD. The MSU also features a register-to-win contest in which individuals were asked to answer questions about COPD. Those who answered correctly were put in a draw to receive aprize.
Participants are escorted to a testing station where an RT is prepared with a lightweight, easyto- hold, and Easy One spirometer, which is the machine that measures lung function. The machine takes two measurements: the FVC (forced vital capacity) which is the maximum amount of air exhaled, and the FEV-1 (forced expiratory volume), the amount of air exhaled in the first second. and Medical Technologies graciously donated six spirometers to the MSU. Their EasyOne machine is very easy to use and a product of the latest technology in spirometry testing. Booth participants are relieved as well as impressed, to see how easy it is to get tested.
The RTs explain the process of performing the test so the most accurate results are obtained for each individual. After taking the spirometry test, the RTs explain the results, answer questions about the results, and offer guidance to participants in reference to any concerns they had. Attendees are then better prepared to talk with their doctors about any concerns they have.
Route FEV-1After the NBC 4 Health & Fitness Expo, the MSU trailer remained in Washington, D.C., to be parked in front of the National Press Club for the NHLBI COPD awareness campaign launch press conference. After the press conference, the trailer was packed up and traveled down south to Daytona Beach, Florida, for a two-day senior expo. In Daytona, the crowd was very strong, with hundreds of interested individuals collecting information on COPD as well as getting tested.
From Florida, the MSU trekked all the way to Dallas, Texas for another NBC Health & Fitness Expo. This event was especially exciting because it is the home base for the respiratory therapists and AARC. Then the MSU returned to Florida for events in Melbourne and Naples where many more spirometries were performed. In the beginning of March, the MSU traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Body, Mind, and Life Expo.
To date, the MSU has provided 2,724 free spirometries in five different expos. Thousands of informative literatures were disbursed at these events. Including local advertisements for the MSU, the estimated exposure in the first three months of this program is over 3 million people. This number does not include all of the people who see the MSU driving on highways, fi lling up at the gas stations, or parked in their local communities.
Right now, the MSU truck is gassing up for its next destination. The engines are revving. The trailer is stocked. And it’s headed your way!
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