National Primary Care Week community health fairs will take place Wednesday, October 24.
- Farmington: UConn Health Center, rear of cafeteria, 263 Farmington Ave., 1 to 4 p.m.
- Hartford: Hispanic Senior Center, 45 Wadsworth St., 12:45 to 4 p.m.
- Hartford: North End Senior Center, 80 Coventry St., 12:45 to 4 p.m.
- Hartford: South End Senior Center, 830 Maple Ave., 12:45 to 4 p.m.
- Hartford: Parkville Senior Center, 11 New Park Ave., 12:45 to 4 p.m.
- Hartford: Community Health Services, 500 Albany Ave., 1:30 to 4 p.m.
- Middletown: Community Health Center, Inc., 675 Main St., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Meriden: Community Health Center, 134 State St., 1:30 to 4 p.m.
- New Haven: Dixwell-Newhallville Senior Center, 255 Goffe St., 1 to 4 p.m.
- Norwich: United Community & Family Services, 47 Town St., 1:30 to 4 p.m.
- Storrs: Mansfield Senior & Wellness Center, 303 Maple Rd., 1 to 4 p.m.
- Wallingford: YMCA, 81 South Elm St., from1:30 to 4 p.m.
- Willimantic: Windham Hospital, 112 Mansfield Ave., 1:30 to 4 p.m.
UConn medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy students are participating in community health fairs across the state Wednesday, October 24, as part of National Primary Care Week.
UConn health profession students, physician assistant students from Quinnipiac University, and community clinicians also are participating in the community health fairs, offering free blood pressure and blood glucose screenings. Preventive health education materials for oral health, nutrition, medication interaction, heart health and diabetes prevention will be available.
UConn is observing Primary Care Week October 20-27. This year’s theme is “Primary Care at Home and Abroad.” Full details of the week’s schedule are available at http://publichealth.uconn.edu/npcw.php.
Primary Care Week is an observance in celebration of the contributions of primary care to community health. It aims to introduce health professions students to the importance of community-responsive primary care, encourage their collaboration as members of future primary health care teams, and to work to reduce problems in health care access experienced by underserved populations in the United States.
“The health care system in the United States and even Connecticut, the land of steady habits, is changing at an unprecedented rate, and that shift is toward primary care and the patient-centered medical home as a building block for high quality, efficient, and affordable health care.” Says Dr. Bruce E. Gould, associate dean for primary care at the UConn School of Medicine and director of the Connecticut Area Heath Education Center. “The need for primary care providers, boots on the ground, will skyrocket as the Accountable Care Act (ObamaCare) kicks in, and our uninsured find themselves with coverage. Events that highlight and celebrate primary care and its role in the health care system, like National Primary Care Week, assist educators in recruiting the best and brightest to the primary care disciplines.”
Institutions throughout the country observe National Primary Care Week, with the dates varying by school. The national effort is a collaboration of the Area Health Education Centers, the American Medical Student Association, and the Health Resources and Services Administration in Washington.
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