History

In 2003, Dr. Jack Ludmir and Dr. Steven Larson organized a series of meetings with local health care stakeholders to discuss the health care needs of South Philadelphia’s Latino community. The convening participants—academic institutions, social service organizations, community leaders and health care institutions—represented a wide range of experience and expertise. During the ensuing nine months, these stakeholders explored a variety of strategies for improving the health of the city’s Latinos. They concluded that a traditional biomedical model of health care delivery would prove ineffective in meeting the complex needs of this immigrant population.

Dr. Matthew O’Brien joined Drs. Ludmir and Larson in 2004. They ultimately decided to design and build a new immigrant health and wellness center to serve the immediate health care needs of the Latino population, while focusing long-term efforts on addressing the social determinants of health. Drs. Ludmir, Larson and O’Brien began with grassroots advocacy efforts, holding a series of town meetings, health fairs, and screenings. These activities provided a forum in which community members could share their ideas about ways to improve the health and wellness of their community. The doctors used the  information gathered from these efforts to establish the foundation of Puentes de Salud: involving practitioners directly in the community and partnering to provide health care and educational programs.

Founding Objectives and Principles

Puentes de Salud operates on a multidisciplinary, community-based collaborative model that promotes health and wellness through low-cost, high-quality health care, innovative educational programs, and community building. Since its founding, Puentes de Salud has prioritized the development of a comprehensive plan for Latino health in South Philadelphia, guided by three objectives:

1. To provide medical services targeting the immediate acute and chronic health needs of the population
2. To design sustainable, long-term strategies for health promotion and disease prevention
3. To create a research partnership between local universities and the community in order to develop best practices for the care of the Latino population, locally and nationally