Mission Statement/ Nuestra Mision

--Sin Puentes, todos seríamos islas--

To promote the well-being of Philadelphia’s Latinos through low-cost, high-quality health care, community development, and innovative education programs which reflect evolving partnerships among individuals, community organizations, and academic institutions.

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Foundations

Objectives
1) To develop a sustainable, long-term strategy for health promotion and disease prevention
2) To provide medical services targeting the acute and chronic health needs of the population
3) To create a research partnership between the university and community that will guide best practices for the care of Latino patients both locally and nationally

Guiding Principles
1) Working collaboratively with communities and stakeholders
2) Addressing social determinants of health
3) Operating in multidisciplinary professional teams

Giving Back

Latina Community Health Services (LCHS) celebrates twins, and recently the 120th birth since the beginning of the program in September 2008. The proud mother of the two chiquitos above (with Jack Ludmir, MD) volunteered to be a mentor and comadre to all the women in our program carrying twins in the future-- as she stated, "it is a lot to manage, having two babies at once, especially for women like me who are working, have our other children, and may be single mothers with our families far away in Mexico. I want to help them navigate their pregnancies so that they feel supported". LCHS continues to provide comprehensive, quality gynecological and prenatal care services to the Latina community in Philadelphia, as our community of women helping each other also continues to flourish.

Promotoras in Al Dia

See this link for an article on the Puentes de Salud promotoras for the cervical cancer prevention campaign http://www.pontealdia.com/local/entre-mujeres-es-mas-facil-2.html

Latina Community Health Services

We are very excited to announce a NEW program for Latina women's health-

Latina Community Health Services (Servicios de la salud a la mujer Latina).

This program complements the care offered at Puentes de Salud by providing ob/gyn care for Latina women, including family planning and HIV/STD testing services.

LCHS is located at 700 Spruce St.

To make an appointment or find out more information contact Rebecca Bixby, nurse coordinator, at rebeccabixby@gmail.com, or call 215-829-7353.

Mexican Independence Fesitval at Penns Landing!

Come out this week to Penn's Landing for the Mexican Independence Festival at the Great Plaza. http://www.gophila.com/C/Philly_Favorites/380/U/PECO_Multicultural_Series_at_Penns_Landing/2001.html

Puentes de Salud and the Mano a mano cervical cancer prevention program promotoras will be there, as well as a host of other Mexican and Latino organizations, artists, musical groups, and vendors. The event begins at 12 noon and continues until 8pm! ¡Nos vemos alli!


We will also need VOLUNTEERS on Sunday for:
1) Set-up or clean-up: 11am-12pm or 4-5pm time slots
2) Blood pressure/ blood glucose screening: 12-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4
3) Outreach/ education (passing out flyers, Puentes' information, etc): all day

please email puentes.de.salud@gmail.com to help out or volunteer with any of the above activities! Thanks for your participation/ ¡te agradecemos tu participación!

Documentary Screenings at JUNTOS

Come see the Documentary series Unnatural Causes: Episode "Becoming American" featuring PUENTES de SALUD, enjoy other films, and stay for the panel discussion afterwards! See Scribe website below for details:

http://scribe.org/events/streetmovies%21%40juntos

PBS Documentary: Are Inequalities Making Us Sick?

Part of the PBS series "Unnatural Causes" features Dr. Steve Larson and Puentes de Salud at the Mexican Independence Day Festival see www.unnaturalcauses.org for more information about the campaign and discussions on health inequalities taking place around the country