Education

After-School Homework/Mentoring Program (Puentes Hacia el Futuro)

In the office, Puentes de Salud has constructed a learning portal featuring a library, study space, educational games and Internet-connected computers. Here, Puentes de Salud offers after-school tutoring, mentoring and a wellness program for the elementary schoolchildren of South Philadelphia. This program pairs the children one-on-one with undergraduate students, graduate/professional students and community professionals who act as tutors/mentors.  The children receive homework and literacy support, explore Mexican culture and the Spanish language, and develop a sense of identity and self-esteem. This program was created and is conducted in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and Southwark Elementary School in South Philadelphia.

For more information visit Puentes Hacia el Futuro.
 

Comenzando Bien Prenatal Education Program

Developed by the March of Dimes and the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services, Comenzando Bien is a prenatal education program for Latina women. The curriculum--delivered by Puentes de Salud's Community Nurse Liaison and promotoras--is designed to educate women in a supportive group setting about the importance of receiving prenatal care from early pregnancy through delivery. The program covers physiological and psychological changes during pregnancy, the stages of labor and strategies for managing physical symptoms. It also helps expectant mothers identify necessary behavior changes to prevent birth defects, premature delivery, low birth weight and infant mortality.
 

Diabetes Management Program

Puentes de Salud has developed an innovative diabetes management program that spans from the clinic to the community. A registry of diabetic patients at Puentes de Salud helps providers track patients’ regular laboratory tests and their receipt of appropriate medicines and services. Puentes de Salud offers all diabetic patients individual counseling with a nurse educator that covers the principles of sugar monitoring at home, dietary modification, physical activity and weight management. This program also features a series of group classes led by Puentes de Salud's promotoras—including grocery shopping trips, cooking demonstrations and salsa dancing—for diabetic patients in the community setting.
 

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Puentes de Salud has developed a three-level ESL curriculum in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. An interdisciplinary group of Puentes de Salud volunteers teaches the classes using curricular materials developed specifically for the South Philadelphia Latino community.
 

Oral Health Education and Dental Care at Puentes

Students and faculty members from Penn Dental Medicine provide oral health education and preventive dental care on selected Monday and Wednesday evenings. Charla sessions on special topics in dental care include care for mothers during pregnancy, infant oral care, good eating habits for children and teens, and denture care. During the charlas, dental students also discuss oral health individually with patients and recommend oral hygiene practices and sources of dental care. On selected Mondays, dental faculty and students provide preventive dental sealants and fluoride treatments for children. The PennSmiles dental bus is scheduled four to six times a year to provide the children with necessary follow-up care.
 

Promotora Program

Since 2007, Puentes de Salud has been cultivating and supporting a dedicated group of community members who serve as community health workers, or promotoras, in South Philadelphia. The program began in an effort to increase Puentes de Salud’s reach into the community and to tackle important health issues outside the clinic where individuals need direct support with lifestyle decisions. The promotoras have addressed a wide range of issues in the service of their community, including cervical cancer prevention, prenatal care, obesity, nutrition and, most recently, diabetes. They lead workshops, provide individual counseling and patient navigation, and participate in research (see Research tab above). The Promotora Program exemplifies the mission and dedication of the staff and volunteers at Puentes de Salud. Read article that appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer profiling their work.
 

Puentes de Salud Backyard Gardening Program

Puentes de Salud, in collaboration with the Community Health Collaborative, has created a backyard gardening program to promote access to fresh vegetables in the South Philadelphia Latino community. Families take part in every step of creating an urban garden: building raised beds in their backyards, filling them with soil and mulch, and planting a variety of native vegetables and herbs—from tomatillos and acelga to chiles and albahaca. With the help of educators from the Penn State Agricultural Extension, this program holds regular classes for participating families to teach them about gardening and the general principles of nutrition. Biweekly home visits allow staff to follow the progress of gardens and answer any technical questions. A second round of planting keeps gardens active through the fall, ending the season with a group meal with vegetables and herbs from participating families' gardens.
 

Puentes de Salud Charla Program

This program features weekly discussions, or charlas, on a wide range of topics, led by volunteers in the clinic waiting room. The charlas are intended to educate community members about health-related topics such as diabetes prevention, hypertension, and bone health. The program also covers topics that are not specifically focused on medical issues, but that play an important role in community health, such as immigrants’ rights, bike safety, sun protection and food stamp eligibility. Representatives of partnering organizations help present many of the nonmedical discussions, and refer Puentes de Salud's patients to the services they provide.
 

Puentes de Salud Latino Studies Coalition

Puentes de Salud attracts more than 200 active student and faculty volunteers from eleven colleges and universities throughout the Philadelphia region. This interdisciplinary group learns about important issues in Latino health firsthand through supervised volunteer work at the clinic. Puentes de Salud also holds monthly in-service education for volunteers, presenting cutting-edge information on topics affecting the health of our community. These lectures and discussions are led by Puentes de Salud staff members and experts from outside organizations.

Puentes de Salud Nurse Practitioner Residency Program

Newly graduated nurse practitioners (NPs) are not given the same opportunity to complete post-graduate clinical training as physicians. As a result, many new NPs feel unprepared for practice. With funding from The Barra Foundation, Puentes de Salud started the second NP residency program in the United States Through a one-year experience that combines supervised clinical experience and didactic sessions, Puentes de Salud seeks to provide the training necessary for new NPs to function more efficiently and effectively in a variety of practice settings. Puentes de Salud's NP Residency Program includes supervised work in primary care, women's health and emergency medicine, where residents are exposed to a full spectrum of disease. In addition to providing this important training experience for new NPs, the leaders of Puentes de Salud are also advocating for federal support of such programs. Puentes de Salud collaborates with the Community Health Center, Inc., in Middletown, Connecticut—the national leader in NP residency training—to provide this program.

Puentes de Salud Programa de Intercambio Medico Cientifico

Since 1991, Drs. Jack Ludmir and Steve Larson have cultivated extensive personal and professional relationships with colleagues in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Dedicated to sharing knowledge and technology with their Latin American counterparts, they have invited countless students, residents and physicians from Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Mexico to observe medical education and clinical care in the United States. In addition, numerous medical students, residents, and faculty from the United States have been afforded opportunities to study and observe health care in the developing world. The long-term goal of these efforts is twofold: to continue to establish a north-south partnership that facilitates the exchange of information and knowledge; and, ultimately, to leverage resources to support the development of "south-south" partnerships.

See the Mesoamerican Health Initiative and the Pan American Health Organization for additional information.
 

Puentes de Salud Student Leadership

Puentes de Salud has developed a highly organized student leadership structure comprising approximately 20 undergraduate, public health, medical, and nursing students. These student leaders manage communications, organizational partnerships, community-based events, and the daily functioning of the clinic. Their responsibilities also include orienting and training all Puentes de Salud volunteers, who number more than 200 at any one time. Training activities, which are offered quarterly and total five hours, help ensure that all volunteer staff function effectively in carrying out Puentes de Salud’s mission.