James Miller Memorial Health Fair and Blood Drive Held
Leslie Capo, Director of Information Services
LSU Health New Orleans, Tulane University and The Blood Center held the James Miller Memorial Health Fair and Blood Drive on Saturday, July 29, 2023 at the Audubon Tea Room. The event honored the August 1 birthday and the legacy of community service of an exceptional young man who went missing and was presumed drowned while vacationing with his family in November 2021. His parents are members of the faculty at LSU Health New Orleans (Fern Tsien, PhD) and Tulane University (Chris Dvorak, MS, CGC).
Activities included health screenings and the opportunity to save up to three lives by donating blood. Health education offerings included water safety information from the Louisiana Department of Health, safe sleeping information for infants from the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office, ALS education from Team Gleason, youth mentoring and mental health from Son of a Saint, addressing health disparities from Dillard University, as well as domestic abuse prevention and resources in Spanish from Golden Change. LSU Health New Orleans participants included the Community Outreach, Rebuilding, and Education (CORE) medical students providing blood pressure and glucose screenings, Tiger Pride medical student organization with LGBT health information, Krewe du Flu medical student organization with Flu Vaccine info, All of Us Program with information about genetics and precision medicine, the School of Public Health with tobacco and vaping cessation, and cancer information, as well as the Human Development Center with information about and resources for persons with disabilities.
Blood donors received free t-shirts, and other giveaways included free snowballs. Live music was performed by the “Eli Tsakiris and Co.” Tulane medical s jazz group, The “Tiny Dinosaurs,” St. George’s Episcopal School music teacher Layla Sutton’s folk/Cajun music band, and the “LaCoste Band” (James’ Ben Franklin High School teacher’s jazz and R&B band).
James Benjamin Miller III was a philosophy and history major at Tulane University. As Vice President of Community Engagement, he established a recycling system, organized student events, and led hurricane relief programs for residents who had been displaced by Hurricane Laura and more recently Hurricane Ida. He participated in community cleanup efforts and data collection for the Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition. James worked during summers as a Counselor and an Instructor at the Audubon Zoo, where he received praise for his patience and kindness when working with children of all ages and abilities. His loss led to the approval and implementation of the Ley de Seguridad Acuática (Aquatic Safety Law) in El Salvador, which has already saved hundreds of lives.
Dr. Tsien was interviewed by a local television station before the event. To see the interview, click here.