Patient First in the Community

It's been a good summer for the Baltimore Orioles and their AA farm system team, the Bowie Baysox, and Patient First is proud to be a part of these two winning seasons. In addition to running the first aid center for every Baysox home game, Friday August 19th, and Friday August 26th completed our six-game showcasing events for Patient First at the games.

Not only did the Baysox entertain the crowds by winning each of their games (the first in a tense, extra innings showdown), each night was capped off with a dazzling fireworks display, and an opportunity to let kids run the bases.

Over the course of both nights, we saw hundreds of people, and gave out hundreds of promotional items, including hand sanitizer, band-aids, magnet clips, pens, paper, and the ever-popular hot/cold packs. Throughout each event, our brand awareness was strong, with every single person who stopped by not only familiar with, but a fan of the service we provide our patients. Congratulations to the Baysox as they continue their run to the playoffs, and we look forward to joining them again next season! 

Landover Hills, MD held its annual National Night Out, which is organized by the local Police department. National Night Out is a community-police awareness raising event in the United States every year. This year there was face painting and arts and crafts activities. In addition, they had the bomb squad and robots present. Located near our Landover Hills, MD location, this event drew families in the local area. They loved our Band-Aids, hand sanitizer and especially the Patient First yo-yo’s. We would to thank Landover Hills Police department for inviting Patient First to come out to this event. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

We had such a nice time at the recent Limerick Community Day in Royersford, PA near our Collegeville and Pottstown centers. Held at the beautiful Limerick Community Park, this family oriented event was hosted by Limerick Township Parks and Recreation and the Spring-Ford Chamber of Commerce. We enjoyed a day full of activities with appeal to all ages.

The Spring-Ford Area High School Marching Band opened the event, and were in great musical form to kick off the festivities. Friends and families of these student musicians came out to cheer on the band, and then stayed for the rest of the fun which included tents and tables from a variety of local businesses and community vendors, including Patient First. RAM Nation Spring-Ford High School Sports and Athletics also participated in the event.  A Food Truck Festival made the overall success of the event extra special and kept people on site for the duration of the event. And best of all, Mother Nature provided us with a picture perfect day – bright sunshine, blue skies and warm weather.

We love opportunities where we can get close with community folks, talk with them and answer their questions about urgent care, and what we do. Participating in community events like this gives us the perfect opportunity to do so. We look forward to doing even more as the Fall season approaches!

The Carytown community celebrated 40 years of the beloved Watermelon Festival with perfectly mild weather and sunny skies.  The festival stretched over several blocks with vendors, music and food trucks. This was a great way to bring folks together.  A projected 100,000+ people were in attendance and over 3,000 watermelons were cut and used to serve the patrons. From freshly cut watermelon to deep fried watermelon, everyone was sure to find something tasty to enjoy.

Patient First has participated in this event for years.  Who knew that something so sweet and enjoyable could be so good for you? Patient First was happy to share the health benefits of eating watermelon, along with some creative watermelon recipes.  And of course we brought Band-Aids and hand sanitizer too.  We’d like to thank the folks of Carytown for a great time.  We look forward to seeing you all next year!

It was a beautiful day with perfect weather for a youth triathlon on a Saturday morning in Ashburn, Virginia.

Hundreds of youth athletes from the ages 6 to 15 gathered in the Ashburn community for the multisport race which included swimming in the Lakes Rec Center outdoor pool, biking around the neighborhood, and running on a marked course starting and ending at The Lakes Rec Center.

As the participants finished the race, they all received a ribbon and were congratulated by their family and friends.

Staff from Patient First came out to engage with the public by handing out promotional items and spoke about services that Patient First offers. We even snagged a picture at the finish line.

The entire event was a great success and our staff had great engagement and interactions with attendees.

Musikfest returned for its 39th year in the Lehigh Valley this year, and we were part of the action again. This 10-day event is the country’s largest free music festival, and draws more than 1 million people to Bethlehem annually. It also provides huge economic impact to the Lehigh Valley area – and estimated $60 million+ each year.

Throughout its 10-day run, Musikfest offers hundreds of performances for “Festers ” to enjoy, and almost all of them are free. The only ones requiring tickets are the nightly headliners, which this year included Counting Crows, Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson, Kelsea Ballerini, and of course, Boys II Men, who headlined Preview Day- our day of participation.

Although we are only there for a single day, Musikfest and Arts Quest organizers always go above and beyond to be accommodating and welcoming to us. They even joked with us about picking the hottest day of the year to participate, and this year was no exception. Temps hovered near 100-degrees all day. We are already looking forward to returning to this amazing event in 2023.

On Saturday, August 6th the 2022 Water Lantern Festival was held at Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Thousands of people came together to experience unity in the community that was moving, yet uplifting.  People channeled their creative side working effortlessly to design water lanterns that were meaningful to them.  Many people listed their dreams and aspirations whiles others took time to commemorate the loss of a loved one.  Some participants were brave enough to get up on stage and share their personal stories.  As night fell, everyone headed to the lake to release their lanterns which is symbolic to releasing peace, hope and happiness.

For years Patient First has aided in healing the community through the services provided at our medical centers.  We were proud to support an event that brought healing and community connection outside of the healthcare setting.  Although the event just concluded, we are already looking forward to next year.

Red Knights PA Chapter 10 is a motorcycle club comprised of past and present firefighters and their families who are devoted to helping their fellow First Responders in a variety of ways. They organized their inaugural Berks County Firefighter Appreciation Day, and invited Patient First to be part of the celebration.

What an honor it was to stand with so many first responders – fire, ambulance, police and more in a day of appreciation – heroes just like those of us who work in the medical profession during these challenging, pandemic times.

This was a family-friendly event … and we interacted with families of all ages.

There were about a dozen fire trucks with their crews on site, several EMS/Ambulance providers … and even a medical helicopter flew in and stayed for a few hours. The event provided demonstrations of a vehicle extraction, and extinguishing a vehicle fire – both fascinating to view, and educational. There were also many events and activities/contests geared just for the firefighters, so it was fun to watch them compete and cheer them on in races and tactical/skill activities.

We are already looking forward to joining other activities that recognize First Responders.

From the sights of brightly colored saris, the smell of mouth-watering curry and masala spices, and the sounds of Bollywood pop, it was a feast for the senses at the HACC campus in Harrisburg, PA for the celebration of India Day 2022. After a two year pandemic-forced hiatus, this festival returned in force, showcasing the depth and breadth of Indian history and culture, coupled this year with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence.

Anchored by a wide variety of restaurant booths and Indian clothing vendors, the main strip of the festival was also the site of a dazzling parade, representing many of the varied ethnicities making up the Asian Indian-American community. The main stage was at the end of the parade route, featuring dance performances, singers and a student robotics exhibition. There was even a flash mob, featuring 40 participants!

This was Patient First's first year participating in this event, which was held just five miles away from our Harrisburg center, and roughly 13 miles from our Mechanicsburg center. All in all, it was a big success, bringing us in contact with more than 4,000 attendees, and an event we look forward to coming back to next year!

CORE Foundation held its annual Super Hero Youth Triathlon on Sunday, July 31. Patient First was a proud sponsor of the event and attended the packet pick up on Saturday, July 30.

CORE Foundation uses the triathlon as a means to raise charitable funds to support a variety of projects, which are called CORE Causes, in the community ranging from food insecurity and youth empowerment.

This year the Super Hero Youth Triathlon consisted of swimming, biking and running which took place at Ridge Heights Pool in Reston, VA. Over 600 athletes registered this year’s event.

Staff from Patient First came out to support the event, handing out promotional items, interacting with patients and some who were unfamiliar with our services.

We look forward to continue to partner with CORE Foundation for future events.