Event Overview

Cross Cultural Community Services, in partnership with the Community Wellness Fair Planning Committee, is proud to present the third annual Black History Month Community Wellness Fair!

This event is designed to support families as they learn more about available services and general health best practices, help them reduce stress, ease the navigation process through the ongoing impacts of COVID, and to determine how we can best support each other during these difficult times.

This year, the fair will take place from February 27th to March 3rd, 2023. The fair will include virtual, in-person, and hybrid events.  On Friday, there will be an in-person Community Health Fair and celebration at the Equality Community Center located at 15 Casco Street, Portland, ME 04101. We are very excited to feature a variety of new panels.

Your one registration below provides you access to all sessions. You do not need to attend every session.

A daily email with links will be sent to all registered attendees. See schedule overview below.

Schedule of Events

Monday, February 27

SESSION #1

Topic: Social Determinants of Health Panel

Time: 9:00-10:30 a.m.

Location: Zoom

According to the World Health Organization, the Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These forces and systems include economic
policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies, racism, climate change, and political systems.

This panel will explore what we see for disparities for historically disadvantaged communities and what we can do to address them.

• How do the Social Determinants of Health play a role in our daily lives?
• How does the SDOH guide your organization/program’s work?
• What subtopics in your field do you think are missing from a large conversation about
• health and wellness?
• What are some existing barriers to decreasing health disparities in Maine?
• How can we use the SDOH framework to secure justice for communities of color and create tangible change?

Panelists:

• Dr. Alfredo Vergara, City of Portland’s Public Health Director
• Liz Blackwell Moore, MPH, Cumberland County Public Health
• Cullen Ryan, Director, Community Housing of Maine
• TBD, Maine Association of New Americans

Facilitators:

• Regina Phillips, Cross Cultural Community Services
• Dan Coyne, United Way of Southern Maine

SESSION #2

Topic: As COVID Persists: The Impacts of Long COVID

Time: 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Location: Zoom

As the country continues to struggle with COVID and the vaccine, we have invited our panelists to talk about long COVID, something that many folks suffer from and others are uneducated about. We’ve put together the below questions for our panelists to discuss:

• How would you describe or define Long COVID? How has our understanding of long COVID changed during the past year? or has long COVID changed?
• What are some of the racial disparities associated with long COVID?
• How has our understanding of racial disparities impacted how care is delivered or designed? What needs to happen to reduce the continued disproportionate impact on BIPOC here in Maine and/or elsewhere in the USA

Panelists:

• Clifford Rosen, Principal Investigator for the Northern New England
• Malual Mabur, MMC

Facilitator:

• Barbara Ginley, MaineHealth

Tuesday, February 28

SESSION #1

Topic: A Conversation about Stigma and Healthcare within the BIPOC Community

Time: 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Location: ***HYBRID – Zoom/ Equality Community Center located at 15 Casco Street, Portland, ME 04101

Panelist:

• Jennease Hyatt, Gilead Sciences
• Tere Williams, Co-Founder and CEO of DUB Biologics

Facilitator:

• Krystal Williams, Provendia Group

***NOTE: Snacks will be provided

Wednesday, March 1

SESSION #1

Topic: Reproductive Health

Time: 9:00-10:00 a.m.

Location: Zoom

Panelists:

• Beth Russet, DNP, FNP-BC
• Nadi Nina Kaonga, MD
• Jessie Laurore, Program Manager of Neighborhood Birth Center

Facilitator:

• Mareisa Weil, Maine Family Planning

SESSION #2

Topic: BIPOC Healthcare Workforce and Strategies to Recruit

Time: 1:00-2:30 p.m.

Location: ***HYBRID – Zoom/ Equality Community Center located at 15 Casco Street, Portland, ME 04101

Questions for panelists:

• Do you know how many BIPOC members are going into the healthcare field?
• Why do you think folks are/aren’t going into this field?
• Does systemic racism explain why more BIPOC aren’t entering this field?
• Do we need to do any more training or education with professionals about EDI?
• What about in the schools, before someone graduates in the healthcare field?
• What can the community do to engage the community about being excited to enter the healthcare profession?
• Has any of your agencies had luck in working in this field? How? Why?

Panelists:

• Nicole Breton, Director, State’s Rural Health and Primary Care
• Sarah Lewis and Sanaa Abduljabbar, Maine Access Immigrant Network
• Ryan Polly, Ph.D., MEd, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, MaineHealth
• Kathy Kilrain del Rio, ME Equal Justice
• Catalina Piedrahita, Healthcare Navigator, Maine Department of Labor

Facilitator:

• TBD

***NOTE: Snacks will be provided

Thursday, March 2

SESSION #1

Topic: Students and COVID-19, Before, During, and After: How are our kids doing?: Presented by Superintendents and School Leaders

Time: 9:00-10:30 a.m.

Location: Zoom 

Panelists:

• Abdullahi Ahmed, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Portland Public Schools
• Peter Lancia, Superintendent, Westbrook Schools
• Tim Matheney, Superintendent, South Portland Schools
• Dana Carver Bialer, Bangor (she/her), Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging District Coordinator, Bangor Public Schools
• Terri Cooper, Superintendent, Kennebunk Public Schools
• Jake Langlais, Superintendent, Lewiston Public Schools

Facilitator:

• Margaret Brownlee, DOE

SESSION #2

Topic: Student Focused Event TBD

Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Location: Zoom

Facilitator:

• Nyamoon, MANA

Friday, March 3

PLEASE NOTE: this day is in-person ONLY

SESSION #1

Topic: COVID and Oral Health

Time: 9:00-10:30 a.m.

Location: Equality Community Center located at 15 Casco Street, Portland, ME 04101

Panelists:

• Flo Edwards, DDS/Dentist
• Kathy Martin, Dental Operations Administrator, Greater Portland Health
• Kate Christiansen, RDH, IPDH, BA, Oral Health Educator, State’s Rural Health and Primary Care

Facilitator:

• Children’s Oral Health Network

SESSION #2

Topic: Health Fair and Celebration

Time: 12:00-3:00 p.m.

Location: Equality Community Center located at 15 Casco Street, Portland, ME 04101

COVID-19 vaccines, and flu shots, Hep C and HIV rapid testing, fluoride varnishes will be available, along with a resource fair.

***NOTE: Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided

We want to thank our additional financial partners, Gilead Sciences, Maine Initiatives, and Maine Health Access Foundation.