What if Every Child Got Screened

What if every child received comprehensive healthcare simply by going to school? 

In this episode of The Vitals, host Leslie Schlachter sits down with two esteemed guests—Dr. Rachel Vreeman, Director of the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, and Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton, Director of Primary Health Care Services for Guyana's Ministry of Health—to discuss one of the world's most ambitious school-based health initiatives. 

Together, Mount Sinai and the Government of Guyana are bringing comprehensive annual health screenings directly into classrooms—identifying vision, hearing, dental, developmental, mental health, and other concerns before they become lifelong challenges. The program has already screened more than 90,000 children and is helping reshape healthcare policy for an entire nation. 

The conversation explores why prevention matters, how early intervention improves lifelong health, the logistical challenges of reaching remote communities, and what health care systems around the world—including here in the United States—can learn from this innovative model of care.

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