Alex, an outwardly genial 66-year-old wearing a ballcap emblazoned with the “M” of Morgantown High School, was reclining on an exam table one morning, politely considering every medical query tossed his way.
“So, what you brings you in today?” Ashlee Cheng asked. “We heard you might be feeling a little confused or disoriented, maybe?”
“Well, my wife and daughter said I was talking out of sorts,” he began.
He tried to joke a little.
“They said I wasn’t making any sense – but they say that all the time, anyway.”
Attempted levity aside, there was serious worry at home.
That’s because had been growing more and more forgetful over the past several weeks, his wife and daughter reported.
Before, he’d have the occasional lapse of a person approaching his seventh decade, but now things were getting more pronounced, more profound.
He was increasingly nervous and agitated.
And – totally out of character for him – he was lashing out in anger, as he was constantly flummoxed by routine tasks he used to perform without even thinking about it.
Was Alex spiraling into dementia or Alzheimer’s?
Was it the onset of a stroke?
Did he have a brain tumor?
It was up to Ashlee and her team to sort it all out, for a proper diagnosis and a treatment, to get Alex programmed for what his next phase of existence might be.
Workups were ordered – and the medical march began.
For the record, the above exchange last spring didn’t occur in a hospital or clinic in town.
In was in Room 166 at Morgantown High.
And while Ashlee is a real-life student, “Alex,” technically is not alive.
Except, well, technically, he is.
Alex is actually ALEX, an artificial-intelligence, medical mannequin who is the star of MedEd, a program designed to get high school students thinking early about careers in healthcare.
Morgantown has been a “company” town many times over in its civic history, from riverboat shipping to glassmaking to coal production.
Today, jobs and careers in the medical profession are among the top draws among residents – and MedEd reflects that in its partnership with WVU Medicine, Monongalia County Schools and the Education Alliance.
MedEd instruction is currently held at MHS, University High and the Monongalia County Technical Education Center.
Meanwhile, Alex/ALEX can meld to the moment, to be who he needs to be for that day’s lesson plan.
He can be a small child with a big case of the flu.
Or a middle-aged woman, complaining of back pain and breathing issues.
With Baby Boomers now aging and dealing with the health issues that come with it, he can be that kindly dad of the above exercise, experiencing cognitive decline.
He can even go into cardiac arrest, if called upon.
Last week, he was summoned for another star-turn, as the program he works for moves into its second year.
Educators across the state and region toured a MedEd classroom and facilities at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital to talk with students and watch – as they talked to a very helpful (even when he wasn’t, on purpose) test subject.
To learn more, visit https://wvumedicine.org/Info/MedEd/.
