CDU Students Bring Health Screenings to Los Angeles Neighborhoods During FIFA Fan Festival

When major sporting events draw large crowds, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science sees an opportunity to bridge health equity gaps. During the recent FIFA Fan Festival events hosted by LA Metro, nearly three dozen CDU students transformed civic excitement into an energetic public health outreach initiative across Los Angeles County.

Over the course of the festivities, 32 students from the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing and other academic programs provided direct care and guidance to hundreds of residents. Working alongside faculty and staff, the volunteers set up mobile outreach posts at high-traffic community hubs, including Leimert Park, Magic Johnson Park, and the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Metro Station.

Delivering Vital Care Outside the Clinic

By meeting residents where they gather, the student-led teams offered free health screenings, essential wellness education, and connections to local healthcare resources. These grassroots interactions allowed future healthcare professionals to screen for common chronic conditions that disproportionately impact Black and Latino communities, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Preventive screenings in non-traditional settings are a critical tool for addressing health disparities. Many urban residents face systemic barriers to routine medical care, including transportation challenges, lack of insurance, and historical mistrust of medical institutions. Bringing diagnostic tools and culturally competent care directly to public parks and transit centers helps catch early indicators of disease before they lead to severe complications.

Training a Diverse Health Workforce

The initiative highlights the unique mission of HBCUs and minority-serving institutions in preparing a healthcare workforce that understands community needs. For the CDU students involved, the event served as an immersive clinical learning experience that underscored the importance of service-oriented medicine.

By applying their classroom knowledge in real-world settings, these future nurses and health professionals demonstrated how academic institutions can actively protect public health. The effort not only provided immediate preventive services to local residents but also reinforced the critical role Black and brown healthcare providers play in fostering trust, improving health literacy, and advancing equity across underserved neighborhoods.