By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
More than 12,000 students aspiring for careers in healthcare from around the world converged in Houston, Texas on June 26-29 for the HOSA Future Health Professionals International Leadership Conference. Six Great Bend High School students qualified for the international competition, and five students attended. Seniors Eliana Teri and Cailyn Murphy placed eighth out of 88 teams competing in the medical innovation category. Sophomore Cara Murphy was also part of the team but could not attend the international conference.
"Our device is a medical ID bracelet with seizure medication inside for someone with epilepsy," Teri explained. "It triples as an emergency medical administration device, emergency seizure plan, and instructions for use."
The device looks like a normal bracelet with a dangling charm that includes a QR code. The code can be scanned for instructions on how to administer the medicine and the patient's relevant medical history. Teri and Murphy entered the medical innovation category for the first time this year and looked at a problem in reverse to come up with a solution. With their Med-Dazzle bracelet, any adult can administer potentially life-saving medication.
"People with epilepsy, their medication isn't always right next to them when they need it," Murphy said. "Anyone can have a seizure at any time. Having that medication on their wrist, something that snaps open like a glow stick, it's super simple and easy to find. You scan a QR code and it's right there."
Teri and Murphy both joined HOSA as freshmen, and both will graduate from GBHS in 2025. Murphy plans to attend Kansas State University or Wichita State University to study nursing. Teri also plans to remain in-state and study a subject in the medical field. They also want to continue to perfect the Med-Dazzle.
"We plan on working on stuff in the background, coming up with a 3-D printed prototype instead of just pieces you can get at the hardware store and throw together," said Murphy. "We want to make a real, solid prototype and keep working with patents."
The Med-Dazzle was designed by the girls specifically to address epilepsy patients, but Teri said the bracelet could have a much longer reach into the medical world.
"Realistically, it could be used for any medication that is administered through the mouth," she said. "We hope to make a pump that can be used for nasal medications."
The international conference in Houston was a great way for the students to network with other medical professionals, including a judge who builds medical devices and an intern who works behind the scenes to create medical devices.
"It was very helpful for us to know the next steps we need to take," said Teri.
Teri and Murphy qualified for the international conference by placing first at a state competition held at Kansas State University. The competition includes a visual demonstration of the project and then a short presentation. In Houston, the girls first made the first cut to the final 35 teams, then made the final cut to 10 teams. As top-10 finishers, they received finalist pins, certificates, and were recognized in an awards ceremony.
Being young innovators, the girls also want to protect their idea. They are already taking steps to do just that.
"At the conference, we had a display time for an hour where the public could come and view the presentations," Teri said. "During that, a lot of people took pictures of our project so we were worried someone might steal it. Hopefully, once we get it notarized, if someone does steal it, we can come back and say it was our idea first."
Two years ago, Teri and Murphy competed in a different category at the international competition in Nashville. Other GBHS students competing in Houston this year were Jasmine Figueroa and Jackson Trudeau in community awareness, and Bella Long in National Geographic ATC-Biology. The HOSA club at GBHS is sponsored by Joseph Bliven.