Care across cultures: Penn Medicine African Health Clinic
For the last two years, the Perelman School of Medicine has partnered with the African Family Health Organization to offer weekly family-medicine/primary care clinics for recent immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean.
“Bonne nuit, monsieur,” says Dianne Uwayo, as she bade farewell to a patient leaving a clinic in West Philadelphia. “Bonne nuit,” he replied. Uwayo, who grew up in the American South but who is of African descent, is multilingual. On any given Monday night like, this warm April evening, at Penn Medicine’s United Community Clinic (UCC) at the African Family Health Organization, a visitor might hear one of 16 other languages, not counting French or English.
From check-ups to managing diabetes, treating common illnesses, and X-raying injured extremities, the care team handles a variety of patients’ needs right from the off-site clinics.
(Image: Courtesy of Penn Medicine News)
For the last two years, Michael Beers, the Robert L. Mayock and David A. Cooper Professor in Pulmonary Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, has helped to lead a Penn Medicine partnership with the African Family Health Organization (AFAHO), to offer weekly family-medicine/primary care clinics for recent immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean.
Uwayo, the Health Programs Manager at AFAHO, AFAHO colleagues, Beers, clinical colleagues and Penn medical fellows, residents, and students take over the AFAHO office on 54th Street, bringing services to a population with many still acclimating to the city and country. The clinic operates on opposite weeks to a similar clinic in the basement of the New River Presbyterian Church, a few blocks from West Philly’s Clark Park, also run by the same Penn Medicine UCC team. UCC runs thanks to grants, the backing of community organizations and Penn, and volunteers.
“Meeting patients where they are helps us quickly build trust with a population who many take advantage of,” says Beers. “Some are refugees, others are just immigrants here for the opportunity to work and start a new life. Some don’t trust big institutions or medical professionals, or are intimidated by big hospitals.”
Over the last year, UCC has treated a total of 158 patients at New River and AFAHO. Patients at New River are largely more longtime residents who are uninsured or underinsured, while those on AFAHO nights are new immigrants. AFAHO patients also are more frequently followed by clinicians at UCC as they put down roots, while patients who access UCC through New River are more often seeking short-term care whether for employment physicals and health screenings or while they are without insurance.
In Senegal, the ambitious Dakar Greenbelt project seeks to create an extensive network of ecological infrastructure in and around the city to sustainably address environmental concerns and enhance urban life. With support from David Gouverneur and Ellen Neises, Ph.D. candidate Rob Levinthal in the Weitzman School of Design led two courses that included a field trip to Dakar, that culminated in students presenting their visions for parts of the Greenbelt.
From a desert to an oasis: Penn engages in ambitious greening effort in the Sahel
Students from the Weitzman School of Design journeyed to Senegal to help with a massive ecological and infrastructural greening effort as part of their coursework. The Dakar Greenbelt aims to combat desertification and promote sustainable urban growth.
As part of an undergraduate course, Penn faculty and students curated an Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition of works from the Neumann family’s extensive collection of modern and contemporary art.
The University’s nexus for technology transfer supports researchers in their innovative efforts, from CAR T to mRNA advancements that have dramatically reshaped the world.
