DALLAS – April 17, 2018 – More than 500 UT Southwestern Medical Center students, physicians, and health professionals will team up on Saturday, April 21, for the 14th annual Carnaval de Salud, which provides free health care services to underserved populations in Dallas.

The health fair runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Thomas J. Rusk Middle School, 2929 Inwood Road, Dallas, Texas, 75235. This year’s event will feature free health screenings for several common conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Participants can get free sports physicals, and learn about local health resources. The fair will also feature interactive booths for children to learn more about science and health, as well as carnival activities, arts and crafts, and prizes. Call 214-648-3578 or visit www.facebook.com/CarnavaldeSalud/ for more information.

Carnaval de Salud is part of The University of Texas System United to Serve initiative to foster community outreach.

“Carnaval de Salud is a great event for everyone involved. The fair provides a welcoming environment where patrons can undergo basic health screening, learn about common medical conditions, and enjoy fun and educational activities for the whole family,” said Claire Mauvais, a fourth-year medical student and event co-director. “UT Southwestern students work together to reach all ages in attendance, emphasizing preventive care and providing resources to encourage healthy lifestyle choices in our community.”

Students from UT Southwestern’s three degree-granting institutions − UT Southwestern Medical School, UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and UT Southwestern School of Health Professions − plan and coordinate the annual fair, which involves more than 500 volunteers.

Carnaval de Salud includes several events leading up to the fair to give back to the Thomas J. Rusk Middle School community and foster science and health education in local middle school students. In the months preceding the fair, UT Southwestern students teach lessons about important health topics to Rusk students and collect Box Tops for Education to donate to Thomas J. Rusk Middle School at the conclusion of the fair. This focus on education culminates in an engaging experience for young learners in the Science Zone, an interactive collection of booths showcasing the human body.

“The Science Zone offers a really unique opportunity for patrons to learn about the science of the human body, face-to-face with UT Southwestern students. I think that type of relaxed and interactive environment really makes the subjects approachable and fun for patrons of all ages,” said Neha Gaddam, a fourth-year medical student and one of this year’s event co-directors.

The event’s popularity showcases the continued need for access to care, as well as the need to engage the community to improve health and raise awareness, organizers said.

“With United to Serve being one of the largest events hosted by UT Southwestern, along with its incredible structure of service-oriented learning, students are able to develop robust experiences in community and public health that enable them to effectively apply medical knowledge for the betterment of our community. This event serves as the key entry point for many to connect with our healthcare system and to link them to resources that can enhance their future well-being, with students proactively following up with these community members that we serve,” said fourth-year student and event co-director Eric Gustafson. “All in all, this exemplifies UT Southwestern’s commitment to increasing access to care and enhancing the public’s awareness of the importance of healthy living and prevention. It also highlights an important facet that makes UT Southwestern special and deserving of its recognition as a Top 20 medical school for primary care education.”

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 22 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The faculty of more than 2,700 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in about 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, 600,000 emergency room cases, and oversee approximately 2.2 million outpatient visits a year.