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Medical Group volunteers clean JBA for Earth Day
DCMILITARY.COM
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Family Advocacy Program plants Pinwheels for Prevention
AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION OF COMPRINT MILITARY PUBLICATIONS AT JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD.
Prince George’s Community College student overcomes obstacles to achieve BY TIMOTHY SANDOVAL PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE
Juanita Artis wasn’t on track to be accepted to the University of Maryland, College Park. After losing her father, uncle and grandmother over the course of her sophomore year at New Hope International High School in Landover Hills, she struggled in school and ultimately graduated in 2008 with a 1.2 GPA. Now Artis, 22, will graduate from Prince George’s Community College in Largo with a 3.48 GPA. A committee of faculty and administrators selected her to deliver the student address at PGCC’s 54th commencement May 23 to share her story of overcoming tragedy and taking advantage of a second chance. Artis will receive an associate of applied science degree in criminal justice and associate of arts degree in psychology and will study criminology at UM in the fall. “It was comforting,” Artis, who
lives in Landover, said of receiving her acceptance letter to the University of Maryland. “It just took me a little long to get there, but I got there nonetheless.” Artis has cared for her mother, Deanna Artis, who has suffered from breast and intestinal cancer for 10 years, which she said contributed to her state of depression in high school and frequent absences. “It definitely left me in a state of confusion,” Artis said. “I kind of lost any sense of self during that time. I really did not do too much of anything ... Overall, it was very disheartening and very hard to try to make sense of what I wanted to do or what I needed to do anymore.” When she started attending classes at Prince George’s Community College in spring 2009, she said, she was encouraged by professors at the school who were accommodating of her situation with her mother.
see COLLEGE, page 9
Hummingbird feeders are a labor of love BY MELINA MESHAKO
MASTER GARDENER UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EXTENSION
My husband has a seasonal household chore he doesn’t seem to mind: he hangs and maintains the hummingbird feeders from late April to late September. By the first weekend in May, the allyou-can-eat nectar stations for hummingbirds are open at our house. To take on this annual ritual to nurture one of nature’s smallest birds, below are a few considerations for selecting, mounting and maintaining hummingbird feeders. The tasks are labeled “His” and “Hers” indicating our household’s division of labor. Your family may have a different solution than ours, dependent upon personalities and family size. No matter how you share (or do not share) this task, enjoy the hummingbird season!
see HUMMINGBIRDS, page 10
PHOTO/MELINA MESHAKO
Hummingbird food doesn’t need to be red, so long as the feeder has some red on it for the bird to notice.
J.P. Hoyer CDC hosts Pizza & Kite Day
FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013 | VOL. 2 NO. 16
Runners ‘beat feet’ at Andrews
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTOS/STAFF SGT. BRITTANY E. JONES
Medals were handed out to all participants of the Joint Base Andrews Half Marathon. BY STAFF SGT. TOREY GRIFFITH
11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS
A rhythmic roar composed of 194 pairs of running shoes broke the silence of the spring morning here April 20 as participants of the inaugural Joint Base Andrews Half Marathon began their 13.1-mile trek to victory. Ranging from novice to more seasoned in experience, the runners represented every military branch stationed in the National Capital Region - enlisted, officer and civilian. Female racers showed up in full force with Brenda Shrank finishing first overall with a time of 1:24:08. Sandra Griffin took second in the female category at 1:37:57, and Brianna Schmid took third place with a time of 1:39:40. Kristopher Epps headed up the male category at 1:24:50, followed by Timothy Noonen at 1:25:31, and Louis Navarro finished third with a time of 1:26:03. The complete list of times is available at www.racepacket. com/rsltwrap1.php?id=3279. The race was initiated by the Andrews Chief ’s Group for the purpose of promoting unity between the various units and services who work here before a schedule of inspections that have often been described as “rigorous” by base leaders. “Colonel Knight, Colonel
A half marathon participant finishes the last leg of the race. A half marathon is 13.1 miles.
Urtso and I were talking about the Marine half marathon,” said Chief Master Sgt. William Sanders, 11 Wing/Joint Base Andrews Command Chief, as he described the event’s conception. “We’d heard a couple
individuals attempted to sign up, but it closed out so early. As the conversation drifted to the heavy inspection cycle coming up, we talked about doing some-
see MARATHON, page 7
Clinic and Surgery Center hosts Personalized Medicine Research Study BY BOBBY JONES
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
If you could identify the diseases most likely to damage your health, would you want to know? What would you do to manage or prevent a potentially life-threatening disease by changing your behavior? Often we may see signs of oncoming medical conditions in our family medical history or due to a negligent lifestyle. Malcolm Grow Medical Clinic and Surgery Center offered Air Force active duty service members the opportunity to participate in a Personalized Medicine Research Study April 11, with the goal to understand how it can be used to improve health. The study is part of the Air Force Patient Centered Care Initiative, sponsored by the Air Force Medical Support Agency
and conducted in collaboration with John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the independent, nonprofit Coriell Institute for Medical Research. Andrews participants at a station inside Malcolm Grow deposited a saliva sample into a tube for later testing. “When an individual gives a sample of their saliva into a test tube, their DNA is extracted from their saliva and genetic testing are performed on those samples,” said Erynn S. Gordon, MS, CGC, Genetics Counseling director at The Coriell Institute for Medical Research, Camden, NJ. “Just like you lose dead cells from your skin, you lose cells from the inside of the cheek, also.” Gordon, an associate investigator on the study, noted, “We’ve been to several Air Force bases around the country and we start-
ed recruiting in the Air Force Medical population January of last year. However, the institute has been doing the study in a civilian population since late 2007.” Study participants filled out baseline questionnaires about their medical history, family history and lifestyle. That information, in addition to their genetic information, is used to provide information back to them about the personalized risks of common diseases like heart disease, diabetes and melanoma. The actual testing of samples is not performed until the surveys are completed online at the convenience of the participant, in the privacy of their home. Participants can then access their results online. “We send them an email when a new result is ready for them to view,” said Gordon. “They log into a secure web portal to view that
information and they can contact us for more information or assistance. Interpreting the information are two board certified genetic counselors.” Gordon said the counselors are master-level trained professionals who talk to people about the meaning of genetic information, provide guidance on how to use that information and work with them on psychologically adjusting to it. There is also a pharmacist available to talk to people about results that relate to how they would respond to different medications. “In this case we’re dealing with common conditions like heart disease and diabetes, where they are actionable,” said Gordon. “People can change their diet or their lifestyle, or they can stop smoking
see STUDY, page 3
PHOTO/BOBBY JONES
Erynn S. Gordon, MS, CGC, Genetics Counseling director at The Coriell Institute for Medical Research, Camden, NJ, discusses how DNA will be extracted from a volunteer participant’s saliva sample.