Online Testing

In December we took our Regional online qualification tests for Health Science and Knowledge testing events.  A few of our members took multiple tests while most members took one. The tests that were picked by our HOSA members for Regionals were Behavioral Health, Biomedical Debate, CPR/First Aid, Dental Science, Dental Terminology, Forensic Medicine, Medical Law and Ethics, Human Growth and Development, and Transcultural Health Care Knowledge tests as well as Medical Assisting, Medical Math, Medical Spelling, Medical Terminology, Nursing Assisting, Sports Medicine, and Veterinary Science. Each test was pretty lengthy with 40 questions or more. These were sort of like pretests because we didn’t know which events we wanted to compete in at State yet, but over all they went pretty well for everyone. We also took State qualifying tests in January for members who wanted to compete in those events. The results helped us decide which events would be best for us to continue studying and practicing our skills for to compete in at SLC. In the State qualifying tests we had two people qualify in the top to attend SLC, Juan Rodriquez in Transcultural Healthcare and Alise Hulford in Medical Spelling. 66 members also took the Healthcare Issues exam. We will be attending SLC in Reno in March to use our studying and practicing skills for competition. We will also find out the results of the Healthcare Issues Test.

National Service Project

This year's HOSA National Service Project is the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The Elko chapter raised $498 towards the cause through fundraising during HOSA Week and basketball games. We held a chicken drop where students could purchase a square on a numbered board to guess where the chicken would poop. We also had 50/50 raffles at the basketball games along with other small fundraisers throughout the year.
-Kacie Bell

Polar Plunge

Elko HOSA teamed up to jump into ice cold water and raise money for Special Olympics. Together our chapter raised over $560 towards the Nevada Special Olympics. On February 11, 2017 our members jumped into the freezing waters of the Elko Pool. It was a great experience to come together as a chapter and raise money toward a good cause. Members who participated were: Madi Harris, Juan Rodriguez, Kaprice Rolland, Jordan Pollard, Kacie Bell, Alondra Talamantes, Alec Wall, Alise Hulford, and advisor Hilary Kohntopp.

Giving Tree

The holidays are a time with many opportunities for our HOSA chapter to do things for the community. This year we partnered with our school's student council and participated in an annual project called The Giving Tree. The Giving Tree is an event where names of students in need from the local elementary and intermediate schools are collected. The names are then written on ornaments and people are able to rally together in purchasing these children gifts. Elko HOSA adopted 7 children and we assigned items for each of our members to bring from the children's wants and needs. The event took place throughout the month of December and we wrapped the gifts and turned them in to be delivered by Christmas to go under their trees at home. 
-Kacie Bell

Bodybuilder Injects Coconut Oil, Damages Arm Muscle

The pressure in todays society to look great is rising and one gentle men went as far as to inject himself with coconut oil in attempts to increase the size and definition of him arm. Rachel Reltner released on December 1^st an article about an amateur body builder form the United Kingdom who took extreme and dangerous measures for enhance him physical appearance.

            The body builder also used steroids in addition to the coconut oil for increase his muscle definition. The coconut oil lead to the development of cyst inside of the gentlemen’s arm muscles revealed by an ultrasound. While the gentle men also ruptured a tendon from the steroids. After these finding the doctor suspected the man was injecting himself and the man admitted to using coconut oil.

            The mans doctor also pointed out how “alarmingly, this practice, used for the short-term enhancement of muscular appearance, seems to come at a significant cost.” Practices such as injecting oneself with coconut oil may be common due to the fact that they are inexpensive but they are also extremely dangerous and potentially life-threatening. No one should take dangerous measures just to make themselves look better. Everyone should put their health first by not only being healthy physically but also having healthy practices in every aspect of life.

-Daisy Uribe

 http://www.livescience.com/57062-bodybuilder-coconut-oil.html

Hydroflask Raffle

Elko HOSA held a fundraiser to purchase a water bottle filling station for the school. To do so, we raffled five Hydroflask water bottles. We wanted to promote healthy habits and the importance of hydration throughout Elko High School. Tickets were sold for $5 per ticket or $20 for five tickets. We raised $700 dollars and will be implementing the filling station this spring!
-Kacie Bell

Colors for Cancer

Colors for Cancer is an annual fundraiser in the month of October at Elko High School. This year our HOSA chapter joined in the activities by selling t-shirts and spreading cancer awareness. Each week is a different cancer/color. We rasied a total of $660.
Week 1: Pink- Breast Cancer
Week 2: Blue- Prostate Cancer
Week: 3: Gray- Brain Cancer
Week 4: Purple- Pancreatic Cancer
Week 5: Orange- Leukemia and Lymphoma
Our HOSA chapter tie dyed t-shirts for each week and sold them for $10 each for students to wear on Wednesdays. The total came to selling nearly 150 shirts. We also hung up posters and handed out information weekly to spread awareness of the signs and facts of each cancer type.
-Kacie Bell

Could We One Day Make Babies from Only Skin Cells?

           

In the upcoming future, researchers may have discovered a way for humans to reproduce babies from eggs made from a parent’s skin cells. In 2016, the theory was successful using mice skin cells in an experiment in Japan.  Adult skin cells can be reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. These cells can be stimulated to grow into eggs or sperm, which are then used to form an embryo implantation into an adult womb. Most scientists agree we are a long way from doing it clinically, but this technology has the potential to replace traditional in vitro fertilization to treat infertility. This new technology is called in vitro gametogenesis.

            What benefits does in vitro gametogenesis have that in vitro fertilization doesn’t? In both processes, the joining of an egg and sperm take place in a culture dish. But with the IVF procedure, you have to collect eggs from the woman and sperm from the man, either surgically or non-surgically. You can also do egg or sperm donation. With IVG, this procedure can help men or women who have no gametes (no sperm or eggs), where IVF is not an option. Another potential benefit with IVG is that the women undergoing the process does not need to receive high doses of fertility drugs to receive her eggs. One other major benefits of IVG, is that same-sex couples would have the opportunity to have biological children. Also, people who lost their gametes through cancer treatments would have a chance to have biological children as well. Most scientist working on the IVG are hesitant to commit to an exact time frame, but they have stated that they are one to two decades away from IVG being attempted in humans.

-Gaby Gonzalez

HOSA Winter Leadership

The HOSA Winter Conference this year was held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.  Our Chapter took about 50 members to the experience on December 5th and 6th. This years conference allowed the new members of our chapter to get a feel of what HOSA is like. We recently divided from our Elko County HOSA chapter with Spring Creek High school and became our own separate chapter of Elko High School. New events were presented to us like the Physical Therapy event, along with older competitive events like Forensic Medicine, and First Aid /CPR. After listening to a tremendous speaker and voting on the state pin design, that our very own Gaby Gonzalez ended up winning; we enjoyed an elegant lunch where we interacted with different chapters that attended the conference . When returning to the conference for the afternoon we listened to more speakers that informed us of the impact that their CTSO clubs had on them to this day. Winter leadership was a great way to interact with different chapters and to get us prepared for our State Competition in the spring.   

-Jordan Pollard

HOSA Week

On November 7, 2016, Elko High School’s HOSA chapter kicked off HOSA Week by selling hot chocolate bright and early before school and in between classes throughout the entire week. Officers and members helped sell the cocoa and raise money to go towards our National Alliance on Mental Illness National Service project this year. Together we planned and participated in fun dress up days and lunch and night activities to create an exciting week for all students to participate in. All the members in HOSA were able to vote on such dress up days and activities, the results were as followed:

‘Merica Monday: Wear Red, White, and Blue

Night Activity: Pumpkin Painting Contest

Tuesday: Doctor vs. Patient

Night Activity: Board Game Night/Grey's Anatomy

Wednesday: Hunter vs. Hunted

Night Activity: Scavenger Hunt

Thursday: Class Colors Day, Compete for the Spirit Stick!

Seniors – Maroon        Juniors – White

Sophomores – Black     Freshmen – Grey

Lunch Activity: Chicken Drop

Friday: No School

Officers and members spread the information through announcements, twitter, and by hanging flyers and posters throughout the high school. HOSA participation increased and money for NAMI was raised throughout the successful 2016 HOSA week. Until next year!

-submitted by Gaby Gonzalez

In Rare Disorder, Woman's Immune System Attacks Her Own Brain

Sara G. Miller released on December 2, 2016 an article about how a woman’s own immune system attacked her own brain caused by a rare disease. This rare disease is known as anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis which an autoimmune disorder according to Dr. Susan Mathai, the doctor who treated the woman with this condition. The NMDA receptor are located in the brain and the immune system creates antibodies that attack these receptors. When these attacks the receptors in the brain leads to neurological symptoms because of inflammation in the brain. The neurological symptoms include things such as seizures and a loss of muscle-movement control.

            Doctors were able to confirm that the woman has the disease by taking a sample of her spinal fluid. Although the cause of this disease is unknown is it believed by certain scientist that tumors may play a role because ovarian teratomas are common among patients with this disorder. It is possible that proteins in these tumors are what cause the immune system to create the antibodies that attack the NMDA receptors in the brain.

            The woman diagnosed with disease did in fact have ovarian teratomas and took precautions by removing her left ovary. Then the woman underwent plasmapheresis to remove the antibodies from her blood that were attacking her brain. Finally, doctors prescribed the woman medications to prevent the production of more antibodies. Thankfully this disease is treatable because it is actually more common then believed with multiple cases reported at the university of Colorado. The woman did have a full recover and spread awareness about how ones own immune system could actually affect your body and not all neurological problems are controllable or preventable.

-Daisy Uribe

http://www.livescience.com/57079-anti-nmda-receptor-encephalitis-brain.html

National Student Medical Leadership Conference

Hands on experience is extremely valuable and I was able to have the most in depth experience at the National Student Leadership Conference. As a medical delegate I learned from college students in various health majors, leadership speakers and an experienced neurosurgeon. Throughout the two weeks at the University of Washington we did simulations at the medical school, performed craniotomies on fetal pigs, learned survival skills, dissected hearts and eyes, and explored the Seattle area. This summer program introduced me to amazing people and all the opportunities in healthcare. I would recommend the conference to all HOSA members, as it prepares students for the upcoming year and allows them to broaden their knowledge in the world of medicine and what it offers.

-Kacie Bell