On Friday, June 15, Esperanza hosted a “FamilyFit Summer Reunion” for families that have completed Esperanza’s FamilyFit program since its inception in 2016. FamilyFit is a program for Esperanza patients and their family members that promotes unity and wellness for each member of the family through physical activity, nutrition education and cooking classes, and behavioral health topics such as good communication and parenting. Families come to the program together twice a week for six weeks.
It was a fun afternoon for all, complete with an inflatable obstacle course, a cooking demonstration on how to make guacamole led by EHC dietitian Holly Evans, RD, LDN and Philadelphia-themed snacks of soft pretzels and water ice!
Said Lianette Pappaterra, MPH, CPH who serves as Esperanza’s Community Programs Manager: “As a new staff member to Esperanza, this FamilyFit reunion was my introduction to the program. It was amazing to see the love that the families had for Esperanza’s staff and for each other, and the joy radiating from the kids and their parents as they spent time with each other and as families reconnected!”
Summer Medical Institute 2018 Begins
This week marks the beginning of the 2018 Summer Medical Institute (SMI) Philadelphia, which will continue through July 14th. A team of 15 Christian health professions students, together with interpreters and volunteer faculty, including several Esperanza staff members, will conduct daily door-to-door outreach in the Kensington and Hunting Park neighborhoods. The teams will conduct health screenings for diabetes and blood pressure and provide information on health topics such as asthma and HIV, as they seek to share the love of Christ through conversation and prayer with those they meet. The students will also have the opportunity to shadow Esperanza health care providers during the Institute.
Please pray for the SMI teams as they begin their outreach this week, specifically for unity among team members, and for open doors to provide health outreach and share Christ’s love with community members.
Also…the
students will be posting regularly about their experiences on the
SMI Philly Blog site over the next three weeks, so please check the blog for updates!
Esperanza Receives $1 Million Grant from PA!
In early June, Governor Tom Wolf announced that Esperanza will receive a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant of $1 million in funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to support the construction of our new Kensington health center at 861 E. Allegheny Avenue. Grant funds will be used for the renovation of a historic, 35,000 square foot former bank building, the Kensington Trust Company building (photo above), which will be transformed into a primary health care center that will serve up to 11,900 patients annually and will also include a new healthy café. Construction will begin in early July, with completion anticipated by early 2019. During phase two, a community health and wellness center with a complete exercise center and conference center/community space will be built on an open lot adjacent to the new health center, which Esperanza received from the City of Philadelphia one year ago (photo below).
Thanks for your prayers for us as we move forward with these exciting projects! To learn more about our Pillars Campaign to support these projects and other initiatives at Esperanza, please visit our website at: esperanzahealth.com/pillars.
