La Placita to feature food, fun and health services

Where can you find free bike helmets, health information and services, lots of dancing, and delicious food all in the same location? At the upcoming La Placita Cleveland events sponsored by MetroHealth. The summer series is being held down the street from MetroHealth's main campus in the heart of Cleveland's Hispanic community at the US Bank Parking lot, the corner of Clark and West 25^th Street.

If you’ve never been before, you’re missing out.

The series of open air pop up markets – La Placita is “the market” in Spanish – turns the area around the corner of Clark Avenue and West 25th Street into an outdoor shopping and entertainment experience. Grab a bite to eat from amazing local cooks, shop at stalls from neighborhood artists and vendors and dance the night away to a series of local musicians.

As fun as it is, La Placita is more than just a party. It’s a celebration of the neighborhood’s vibrant Latino history and culture. What’s more, it’s a chance to support small businesses – most of which are owned by neighborhood residents – as they work to establish a lasting presence in the community. (It may not seem like you’re contributing the future of the Clark-Fulton neighborhood by coming out for empanadas and live entertainment, but that’s exactly what’s happening!) 

Margarita Diaz, RN, Manager of Health Equity, says this type of outreach is important. "When patients see that we are happy to invest in their well-being, then they themselves will also see the value of personal and family health. This is our goal as we improve population health through cross cultural encounters. Our continued support and engagement with culturally diverse communities establishes mutual respect and builds trust between communities and health systems such as MetroHealth, thus improving culturally competent, patient centered care."

Services that will be available at La Placita include:

• Alan Martinez, DDS, and the Oral Surgery team will provide oral screenings
• The Nursing team will do biometric screenings (August event)
• MetroHealth Police will provide gun safety information and gun locks
• The Office of Opioid Safety will have kits and information to share
• The Patient and Family Advisors will be onsite
• The Language Access team will be onsite
• HIV prevention information will be available
• The Patient Financial Services team and the Enrollment Van will be onsite
• Staff from the Comprehensive Burn Care Center will be onsite

La Placita is on three Saturdays this summer from 1 to 10 p.m.:

• June 15
• July 20
• August 17

It is free and open to the public and there is no registration required.

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