Penn Medicine nurses give back to community through annual resource fair in Philadelphia
On a week meant to celebrate them, nurses spent their time doing what they do best, taking care of their community.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Nurses from Penn Medicine spent Saturday afternoon giving back to the community at a health resource fair designed to give opportunities to residents in West Philadelphia.
The third annual Penn Medicine Nurses Week Community Day featured everything from free COVID tests to blood pressure screenings at Malcolm X Park.
Neighbors young and old could also watch quick demonstrations on how to stop bleeding, how to administer Narcan, and how to perform CPR.
"I just went over there to go look at CPR and stuff because I never experienced it before and never did it," said 12-year-old Erin Grigges.
The fair was first held in 2021 as a way to help the community during the pandemic, but it has grown into an annual event.
"We know even prior to COVID, the health issues that existed have really exasperated in the last couple of years. A lot of people are struggling with a lot of different challenges," said Sophia Carreno, a nurse at Penn Medicine and the event's organizer.
She says the health system chose Malcolm X Park for the event because it's a center point of the community.
"Actually, I just happened to be coming through the neighborhood, getting ready to go to another festival, and we saw this and pulled over," said Dwayne Cirwithen from West Philadelphia.
On a week meant to celebrate them, nurses spent their time doing what they do best, taking care of their community.
"We just know that there's a lot of opportunity and need in the community and we have staff here that are able to leverage their expertise," said Carreno.
