For the past decade, PPMC’s Nursing Shared Governance Leadership Council has reached out to community members to promote health and wellness. Last month, at PPMC’s 10th Annual Community Health Fair, residents of West Philadelphia and Powelton Village were invited to take advantage of free medical screenings, CPR and first aid training and to listen to presentations on a variety of health topics, common health issues, and community resources. There were plenty of kid-friendly activities, healthy snacks, and giveaways too!
On paper, the stats are impressive, but their impact is even greater in practice. Over the past 10 years, PPMC’s annual neighborhood health fairs have encouraged more than 1,000 community members to live their best, healthiest lives, provided more than 700 blood pressure screenings, collaborated with more than 200 local vendors, and brought together more than 150 hospital volunteers to achieve one goal: building a stronger, healthier community by providing free access to healthcare professionals.
"The success of the health fair is directly related to how well our planning task force, our volunteers, our vendors, and the community members who participate come together, and time after time, they all step up to the plate," said Melisa Stanton, MSN, MPH, RN-BC, director of Professional Practice and Nursing Outcomes. "This fair gives us the opportunity to act on the results of our community health needs assessment and to make sure we're addressing those needs and providing people with the resources they need."