LA VOZ QUE CURA
Penn Medical Spanish Club
The mission of La Voz Que Cura is to expand the knowledge and proficiency of Medical Spanish, while engaging with and contributing to the diverse Latino cultures in Philadelphia.
PENN MEDICAL SPANISH CLUB AT A GLANCE
Carrie first had the idea to create a group where medically interested individuals could interact with the Spanish-speaking community and begin learning the language on their own in September 2016. With the large numbers of Spanish-speaking patients in the Philadelphia community, Carrie noticed a lack of providers able to effectively communicate themselves. As a student in the post-baccalaureate program, she knew many of her peers were interested in learning Spanish, though many remarked they would do this ‘one day’. She thought, why not start instructing at the source, since the program is filled with many aspiring medical professionals, who share dreams of caring for the underrepresented Latino patient population.
The first Medical Spanish Crash-Course series was conducted in the Fall of 2017, and it was a success. This Spring we will be having our second series of the Crash-Course and a special guest hands-on Class event. In addition, we plan to have some lecture speakers, social events (Spanish speed dating and more!), individual and group volunteer opportunities, as well as a cultural event.
The aim of La Voz Que Cura is to create a place within the University of Pennsylvania and larger Philadelphia communities where students, healthcare professionals and community members can come together to work toward better understanding and serving the Latino communities. In order to accomplish this, we primarily seek to educate students in cultural and language skills, as well as provide them with opportunities to engage with the communities outside of the classroom. Our dream is to have fluid working relationships with various community partners in Philadelphia to serve as a source of proficient volunteers.
PREHEALTH MEDICAL SPANISH CLASS
Friday, March 16th, 2018
Join us for class! Be sure to RSVP to our email invite and we'll make sure we have food waiting for you. Class is in Room 100 at the LPS Offices per usual.
GUEST SPEAKER: DR. JACK LUDMIR - PUENTES DE SALUD CO-FOUNDER
Monday, March 26th, 2018
Dr. Jack Ludmir is the Senior VicePresident for Physician Engagement and Integration at Jefferson Health Systemand the Associate Provost for Community and Global Initiatives at ThomasJefferson University. Prior to this position he was the Professor and Chair ofObstetrics and Gynecology at Pennsylvania Hospital, and the Vice Chair of theDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine ofthe University of Pennsylvania for 18 years. He was a founder of the Academy ofMaster Clinicians at Penn Medicine, and the Past Chair of the Governing Councilfor Maternal and Child Health for the American Hospital Association.
Dr. Ludmir was awarded the AlfredStengel Penn Health System Champion Award for improving, transforming andintegrating the entire University of Pennsylvania Health System’s ObstetricalServices, ensuring that every patient has a right to prenatal care. He is astrong advocate for making high quality care available to vulnerablepopulations, including the underserved and uninsured in the Philadelphia regionand globally. He was the President of Women and Children’s Health Services(currently the Ludmir Center for Women’s Health), a not for profit organizationdevoted to the care of women from the surrounding community and is a co-founderof Puentes de Salud and Latina Community Health Services, organizationsproviding free care to uninsured immigrants. The Maternity Care Coalition inPhiladelphia awarded him the Spirit of Motherhood Award for strengtheningfamilies and inspiring change every day. The March of Dimes gave him theRoosevelt Award for Service to Humanity and Philadelphia Magazine named him oneof the “Best Philadelphians”.
Dr. Ludmir will be talking abouthis experience providing obstetric care to undocument/underserved, pregnantLatina women in the Philadelphia area. He will speak about his journey tofinding his calling with caring for the Latina population, the challenges andrewards with caring for them, and advice/guidance for aspiring physicianspursuing a future in providing medical care to the under served Latino/apopulation around the country.
PREHEALTH MEDICAL SPANISH CLASS
Friday, March 30th
Join us for Class! Be sure to RSVP to our email invite and we'll make sure we have food waiting for you. Class is in Room 100 at the LPS Offices per usual.
THE TEAM
CARRIE DIAMOND
Founder & President
Carrie is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Penn Acute Research Collaboration at Penn Presbyterian. She is an avid hiker, traveler, language enthusiast, HIIT workout fanatic and aspiring puppy-owner. Carrie graduated from Princeton University in 2009, where she majored in Spanish and Portuguese. During her time at Princeton, she was able to study abroad in Spain and work and conduct research in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Carrie has worn many hats; from collegiate field hockey player at Princeton University to Spanish Lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore, she found her way to the University of Pennsylvania, where she completed the Post-Baccalaureate Program in December 2017. She is applying to medical school and hopes to continue engaging and serving the Latino communities in whatever capacity she can.
JOSUE ESTRELLA
Vice President
Josue is a clinical research coordinator with the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2013 (Go Blue!) with a degree in Neuroscience. Between that time, Josue worked as an Emergency Department medical scribe and traveled around the United States implementing new teams of medical scribes at new partner hospitals in Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, and California.
Traveling is his primary hobby having lived in Greece, Austria, and Italy for a few months in 2015, but he often tries to stay domestic and visit various U.S. National Parks in order to hike as many mountains as he can. He also loves to spend time in the kitchen - crafting complex and delectable dishes - and aspires to grow a diverse vegetable/herb garden that can supply his cooking obsession. Josue completed the Post-Baccalaureate program in December 2017 and he hopes to establish a successful career in Emergency Medicine or Trauma Medicine with an emphasis on medical education and health promotion in the Latino(a) community.
LAILA KALAF
Program Coordinator
Laila graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor's in Nutrition this past spring. Currently, she is a first year specialized science student in the Post Bacc program here at Penn.
She was born and raised in Dominican Republic, moving to the U.S. at the age of 12. She is excited to be part of our Spanish teaching team. She believes that bilingual skills are especially important in the medical field - Not only do they enable providers to communicate medical knowledge and instructions with a wide population of patients, but speaking the same language as your patient also adds to their comfort and confidence in your treatments.
KENDRICK BROWN
Program Coordinator
Kendrick grew up in Oakland, California and was always jealous of his Spanish speaking half of the family. During his undergraduate studies at Santa Clara University he began working in advocacy on behalf of the contracted workers on campus and found his lack of Spanish a frustrating barrier in his communication with people. This was only made clearer when he began working in the local Tier 1 Trauma Center where he estimates more than a third of the patients he interacted with were Spanish speaking only. He has since committed himself to improving his Spanish and hopes to help others along the way while spreading the word of its importance in medicine.
Kendrick is applying to medical school in the Spring of 2018 and hopes to return to the west coast (best coast) after his studies where he believes Spanish will be as important of a tool as a stethoscope in his care of patients.
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