LOS ANGELES – St. Vincent Medical Center (SVMC) announced on Tuesday that it will be holding a free multicultural health fair on September 28, from 9am to 3pm, to address the healthcare needs of Angelenos from various ethnic communities.
It will be held at the St. Vincent Ocean View Building located at 2222 Ocean View Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90057 (near 3rd St. and Alvarado).
St. Vincent’s organized the the annual health fair in partnership with the consulates general of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, Peru, and Thailand.
In a statement released on Tuesday, hospital officials said that the event seeks to provide low-income, uninsured, and undocumented individuals with free access to primary care, health screenings, health education, and social welfare referrals.
At a press event on Tuesday in Los Angeles, St. Vincent Medical Center CEO and President Cathy Fickes said that their hospital serves a wide variety of ethnic communities, with over 18 languages spoken on any given day.
Fickes said that approximately one-third of their patient population is Korean. Filipinos make up for another large portion of the patients, along with a mix of patients who are of Hispanic descent.
“We’re very proud to partner with the consulates … as we endeavor to work with them to make sure that the patients, the people from their countries, are provided for and have medical services available to them,” Fickes said.
Fickes said that the health fair is one way for St. Vincent to engage with the communities and make sure that people have access to health care and screening procedures that can help monitor their well-being.
Diplomats and dignitaries from the various consulates also came together on Tuesday to show their support at the launching of the health fair.
Peruvian Consul General Liliana Cino revealed that in efforts to ensure that healthcare awareness is at the forefront of the Peruvian Consulate’s services, they have entered into a partnership with St. Vincent Medical Center to better serve the needs of their constituents.
Philippine Consul General Ma. Hellen Barber-De La Vega said that the Philippine Consulate’s partnership with St. Vincent “should be a natural alliance because the large number of our [Filipino] population here in Los Angeles County speaks volumes.”
“One thing that strikes me about our partnership is that the St. Vincent Medical Group focused on the real core issues that’s affecting our communities – especially the Asian Americans – for instance diabetes, high blood pressure,” De La Vega said.
“They really went out of their way to find out what concerns or what diseases are affecting our communities. That alone represents a genuine and sincere interest on the part of St. Vincent Medical Center,” she added.
Services to be rendered at the health fair include mammography screening, flu shots, cholesterol screening, dental screening, glucose screening, ultrasound screening, pap smear screening, blood pressure screening, anemia screening, body fat screening, osteoporosis screening, HIV/STD screening, vision screening, acupuncture, depression and anxiety screening, and free or low-cost health insurance information consultation and enrollment. Information on cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases will also be provided to health fair participants.
According to Pedro Ramirez, St. Vincent’s director for its Multicultural Health Awareness and Prevention (MHAP) Center, all services will be available at no cost for any participant of the health fair, regardless of legal status and insurance coverage.
The event is sponsored by the Daughters of Charity Foundation, UniHealth Foundation, Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation, and Los Angeles City Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Mitch O’Farrell.
