Miami, August 31, 2022 – Miami Dade College (MDC) Medical Campus has been awarded a Platinum Level Skin Smart Campus Award by The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention in recognition of its commitment to the well-being of the campus community, providing a safe, healthy learning and living environment on and off campus. It is the first campus in South Florida to earn this recognition.
“We are honored to receive this national recognition and pledge to help bring awareness to our college community about the health risks associated with indoor tanning,” said Medical Campus President Dr. Bryan Stewart. “The Medical Campus pledges to keep indoor tanning devices off our premises, and all affiliated buildings and will also promote skin cancer prevention and UV safety education.”
As part of the award, The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention will provide Medical Campus two free sunscreen dispensers and a year’s worth of sunscreen, which will be installed around campus and available for all. In addition, the campus will create an educational page with important information about skin cancer prevention.
The success of the Skin Smart Campus Initiative was recognized in a 2019 JAMA Dermatology editorial by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Boris Lushniak. Lushniak emphasizes that when prevention works “there is no disease and therefore nothing bad happens to the person. Oftentimes we do not appreciate or celebrate the successes of prevention. Let’s make nothing happen! Let’s keep on track on that bold and noble mission of preventing skin cancer.”
The Indoor Tan-Free Skin Smart Campus Initiative was developed in response to the 2014 U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer, which concluded that there is a strong association between increased risk of skin cancer and indoor tanning use. Numerous studies have found that skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, and melanoma—the deadliest form of skin cancer—is one of the most common cancers diagnosed among young adults. According to The International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group, the use of indoor tanning facilities before age 35 increases the risk for melanoma by 75 percent.