Students, staff and faculty of the USC School of Pharmacy joined counterparts from Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA Health), L.A. Recovery Connect, Team Awareness Combating Overdose (TACO), Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI) and other community partners at an afternoon health fair at Saint Mark United Methodist Church in South Los Angeles on Saturday, September 10. The event featured free flu and COVID-19 vaccines, health screenings and giveaways, and a community discussion about the dangers of fentanyl.
Volunteers included second-year PharmD student Daniella Del Toro, who said she was excited to vaccinate members of the community with the new bivalent COVID-19 booster. “The community members who came to this health fair were all very kind-hearted individuals who expressed gratitude to all USC School of Pharmacy students who were volunteering their time to provide vaccinations and health screenings.” Second-year PharmD student Luis Larios agreed with the sentiment and shared how happy he was to spend the afternoon giving back to the community. “Being from South L.A., it means a lot to me to be able to provide free health services in my neighborhood.”
Watch the fentanyl awareness panel discussion here
Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson (8th District) thanked the organizers for working together to provide accessible care and resources for the community of South Los Angeles, especially in harm reduction. “Those of you who are helping bring awareness about addiction, your work is deeply felt. There isn’t a household for miles around who doesn’t know somebody in their family or church that is not impacted by this challenge that our community, city and the world faces.”
For more information about the USC School of Pharmacy’s community outreach efforts, please contact Carla Blieden, director of student outreach and community health at the USC School of Pharmacy.
