Bayside High goes to LIJ

Students from Bayside High School learned first hand about lung disease during a visit to Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Hospital’s Pulmonary Function Laboratory, which was part of a year-long partnership between the hospital and school.
A couple of years ago, Dr. Harry Steinberg, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the North Shore-LIJ Health System, came up with the idea of having residents work with students as a different way of being involved in the community. Two years ago, he wrote to local schools, presenting the collaboration idea to them. One of the first schools to respond was Bayside High School.
This year, planning for the program began in September and actually started in November when residents went to the school to give lectures. Along with the lectures that were given throughout the year, a small group of students was taken to the hospital for “Applying Science in Medicine Day.”
“We try to show them [the students], by a combination of lectures and seeing our patients and seeing our equipment, how the science they’re learning in high school applies to medicine,” said Dr. Anne Robbins, an attending physician with the Department of Medicine.
Bayside High School teacher Jenny Li said that the program is done on a volunteer basis and that the students were very interested in participating. Although only 16 were able to go on the June 5 trip to the hospital, about 200 attended the final lecture in May. Li said that 11th and 12th grade students were selected based on their strong backgrounds in science.
“I just thought it would be really interesting because I’m interested in science,” said Pam Kumparatana, an 11th grade student who lives in Flushing.
Kumparatana said that she learned that if a person forces a lot of air out of their lungs it can expand the lungs more than 80 percent, which can be good for exercise and overall fitness. She said she also got to see patients with lung disease and how it affects their breathing and normal activities.
Alvin Babu, also an 11th grader, said that he thought it would be interesting to take part in the program and learn about the lungs and the diseases that affect it. Babu, a resident of Glen Oaks, said that he wants to go into pediatrics. He said that participating in the program with LIJ has enabled him to better understand medicine and parts of the body while also giving him more insight, knowledge and information.
Dr. Donna Tsang, the coordinator of the Pulmonary Physiology Laboratory/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, said that this collaboration has increased awareness for pulmonary disease and how such patients are treated.
“They seem interested in it and hopefully we’ll be able to open options for them in the future,” Tsang said. “Maybe they’ll be interested in the health field.”