On Oct. 23, students and community members gathered at Montgomery College (MC)Takoma Park/Silver-Spring at the Charlene R. Nunley Student Services Center to visit the first health fair at MC.

This Health Fair was a follow-up to the prior Thursday, where people had their blood samples taken for generalized tests. Over 15 specialties were available at the event as well.

According to Dr. Irfan Suleman, the president of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent in North America’s (APPNA) DMV Chapter, if something abnormal is spotted, they refer people to one of their free clinics for screening and further tests.

While there were APPNA and American Diversity Group doctors, there was only the chance to talk with an American Diversity Group doctor. One of the general doctors, Matthew Ekiel discussed how they communicate with the patients. When further pressed on specifics, he said, “The way I’m talking to you right now is how we talk to patients,” continuing to do so throughout the conversation.

Dr. Mayur Mody, the executive director of the American Diversity Group talked about how important the health fair was to him and listed resources that the community should take advantage of, including the ability to connect to specialists, help getting reading glasses, free dentistry provided by over 200 dentists in the area, and free appointments at American Diversity Group clinics on Saturdays.

Dr. Mody himself is a Montgomery College graduate from 2008, and he said that this is part of why he started the effort to host an event at MC. Notably, he said that the American Diversity Group typically focuses on the elderly but that many college students are also uninsured and could take advantage of the opportunity.

According to Dr. Suleman, these kinds of events are held by the American Diversity Group and APPNA around 2-3 times a year in the Silver-Spring area. More information is available on their websites.