Medical students from the Drexel College of Medicine chapter of the Latino Medical Students Association (LMSA), along with partner organizations Grupo Morivivi, the Health Promotions Council, and ASPIRA, have organized a free health fair for the city’s Latino community on March 10, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m at Antonia Pantoja School in North Philadelphia. 

Staffed by student volunteers from Drexel College of Medicine LMSA as well as the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine LMSA, patients will have access to free screenings for blood pressure, vision, glucose, and BMI. Physicians from a range of fields will also be on hand to provide additional advice and support, and Grupo Morivivi will be offering the opportunity to sign up for a free mammogram. 

Students organizers said that they are expecting “twice as many people” to come on Saturday compared to the health fair’s inaugural year last year, and hope that as the health fair continues to grow, more Latino Medical Student Associations from other colleges and universities in the area will get involved. 

Jordy Salcedo and Joanna Sanchez, co-presidents of Drexel LMSA and second-year medical students, said that providing medical consultation that is accessible in terms of cost and language (many of the medical students who volunteer at the fair speak Spanish) is essential in bolstering community preventative medicine in the Latino community.

“Early screenings are very important in terms of long term healthcare as well as costs,” Salcedo said.  

He noted that the health fair is “a great stepping stone for a lot of patients,” who may be more likely to seek medical attention after the initial screenings and consultations provided there.