In less than a decade since Primary Medical Care Center & Urgent Care Clinic was founded, it has become well-known as one of the leading medical centers in South Florida. It offers state-of-the-art technology and genuine patient-centered care for non-life-threatening medical conditions and has already made a significant impact throughout South Florida’s medical sector.
Community involvement at many levels is also one of its trademarks. From showing love and gratitude to its patients on special occasions to supporting people in the community in need has garnered the medical clinic strong name recognition. Its founder and CEO, Princeton Jean-Glaude, is one of the very rare Haitian entrepreneurs in South Florida who has built a culture of giving back to the very fabric of his companies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of workers to lose their jobs in the US, and vulnerable ones have been hit hardest. During this economic hardship where millions have faced food insecurity and other challenges related to the pandemic, Primary Medical Care Center has taken the lead in teaming up with local institutions and organizations to lend a helping hand to families in need as the country grapples with one the worst pandemics in its history.
Just for the past week, as sponsor, PMCC & UCC were part of two major community events: a Free-Food Drive Distribution in North Miami Beach and a COVID-19 Vaccination in Plantation.
The Free-Food Drive Distribution
The Free-Food Drive Distribution was organized in North Miami Beach by C. G. Bethel High School on Thursday, April 8, 2021, from 9:30 am to 1pm.
Around 6 o’clock, under the leadership of Ms. Eugenise ‘Jenny’ Mompremier, more than 60 volunteers (including C. G. Bethel High School students, members of community organizations such as Charcoal to Diamonds, Inc., and Family of Excellence Community Alliance) were getting ready in the parking lot of the school, located at 16150 NE 17th Ave, North Miami Beach, FL 33162. Renel Denis Bellevue, representative from PMCC & UCC, also helped in the preparation process.
The event was part of some new initiatives taken by Ms. Mompremier who joined the school three months ago as its Community & External Engagement liaison.
“One of my main objectives is to help the school have a stronger presence in North Miami Beach throughout community events,” said Ms. Mompremier, who has a bachelor’s degree in Business administration and about two decades of experience in the Miami-Dade County schools system.
“After noting that a large number of kids in the school are part of the minority, I thought it was important to find a way to help the parents during these tough times. The Free Food Drive Distribution idea came up after contacting the North Miami Beach elected officials, particularly Commissioner Paule Villard who was very receptive at the first contact, since the school is located in her district,” explained Ms. Mompremier.
The monumental success of the first Food Drive last February was proof that there are many families in need of food in the North Miami Beach community. After the stock of food for about 500 families was completely given away, vehicles were still in line.
Since Mr. Alejandro Madrigal, the school principal, and the entire participating elected officials were thrilled beyond words, the organizers were excited to do a second edition, which brought more sponsors and more volunteers on board.
Besides Primary Medical Care Center, FARM SHARE, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools being sponsors for this second edition, the community event has received the support of both cities North Miami Beach and North Miami and their respective police departments.
City North Miami Beach Commissioners Paule Villard, Fortuna Smukler, Daniela Jean, C.G. Bethel High School Principal Alejandro Madrigal, Miami-Dade School Board member (District 3), Ms. Lucia Baez-Geller, Primary Medical Care Center Founder and CEO Princeton Jean Glaude, and North Miami District 4 Councilman Alix Desulme, Ed.D., were among those who took part at the April 8th event.
The Free Food Drive Distribution was open to the public while supplies lasted. Recipients arrived in their vehicles and walk-ups were also permitted. At the west entrance of the school parking lot, cars lined up seeking a meal. The distribution began around 9:30 am and lasted until 1:15 p.m.
FARM SHARE supplied fresh products [potatoes, oranges, tomatoes, milk, cheese, and more] while Primary Medical Care Center offered beans and rice. These products were distributed to more than 650 struggling families in North Miami Beach.
“It is our duty as elected officials to try to help the individuals in our community affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said North Miami Beach Commissioner Fortuna Smuker, who delivered a Plaque of Proclamation to the principal of C. G. Bethel High School, Mr. Alejandro Madrigal, for the school’s community involvement.
“It’s an amazing and inspiring sight to witness the people of our community -from elected officials to business people to the average citizen on the street- come together to help others in a time of need,” said Princeton Jean Glaude, the founder and CEO of Primary Medical Care Center.
“As part of our business culture, at Primary Medical Care Center, we take pride in helping people in need. To me, it is an incredibly rewarding and life-changing experience. This is one of the best ways to give back to the communities,” he added.
“This second edition of Free-Food Drive Distribution organized by C. G. Bethel High School would not be possible without the support of the elected officials, the police officers, the sponsors, the students and each single volunteer, particularly Ms. Alberta Mathurin, who is always there to support me personally in any community activity I am part of,” said Ms. Eugenise ‘Jenny’ Mompremier, Community & External Engagement liaison at C. G. Bethel High School.
The COVID-19 Vaccination
Two days later, on Saturday, April 10, as the main sponsor, Primary Medical Care Center was the force behind a ‘Free Ages 18 & Older’ Covid-19 Vaccination event at St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church in Plantation, Florida.
Despite that COVID-19 vaccines continue to arrive in Florida in extremely limited supply, the Haitian-American owned clinic, with the support of the Federal Government, found a way to help currently eligible Florida residents get vaccinated for free.
The organizers had requested participants pre-register online through the medical center’s website primarymed.com, however walk-ins were also permitted. The free Covid-19 vaccination clinic was held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the parish hall of the Episcopal Church (7801 NW 5th St, Plantation, FL 33324 ) known as a “bridge tradition” because it encompasses both the Catholic and Protestant traditions in one spiritual family.
For a long time, the church has been working with the local government hosting events in partnership with Broward County and the City of Plantation authorities to help people in need. According to Father Albert Cutié, rector of the church, the parish does a lot of community outreach, a variety of events, including spiritual support and feeding the homeless. When Covid began, as the leader of the church located in central Broward County, he and his staff began to worry about how to get the vaccine to people in their community.
“For the COVID concrete response, we were able to make wonderful contact with Primary Medical Care Center and had decided this was the best way to get the vaccines for our people,” said Father Cutié. “We chose Saturday since we know it is a better day to have more people coming.”
It was a vaccine event for underserved communities, including people with disabilities after many have faced a lack of access and barriers to getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Broward County.
The morning was the biggest rush. By 9 o’clock, a long line of people was already formed at the main entrance of the church, waiting to get through the short administrative process to proceed to the Parish hall section to get vaccinated by Primary physicians who volunteered for this great community cause.
A check in table was set up at the entrance of the church, after which point individuals joined a line leading to the vaccination stations. There were two vaccination tables, each with three Primary staff members who administrated the vaccines.
The parking lot was crowded with vehicles as people were rushing to get in. Around 12:30 pm, more than 200 people had already received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and another 100 were still in line. The benefit was that the city of Plantation is centrally located in Broward County, therefore residents from several neighboring cities were also able to come.
St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church has a total of 1300 parishioners, originally from 54 countries. Inside the church, small flags representing the 54 countries are clearly displayed. Certainly people from the Caribbean are a big part of the assembly, comprising about 65 percent, according to Father Albert Cutié, today’s leader of the church which has been there since 1960.
“This is such a joy being diverse,” explained father Cutié. The church has embraced every group. We are not a church of white people, of black people, of Caribbean people, of Indian people, here everybody is welcome.”
Certainly, the church would like to have as many events like this as they can to serve the communities.
“We don’t have any limit to what we would do to help the community,” said Father Cutié. “We have a beautiful staff here at the Church who do a lot of work. The staff of Primary has been phenomenal, a lot of work on their part, too. We thrive to keep everyone as safe as possible and we realized vaccination is the way to go.”
“To be honest, it broke my heart, not necessarily as a priest, but as a human being, when I heard a lot of minorities would not be vaccinated. That was a concern for my congregation. We knew when we brought the vaccine to St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church we would be able to serve the minority.”
The Covid-19 Pandemic has impacted the parish. Father Cutié pointed out the loss of at least two members due to the pandemic. He also cited the case of parishioners who lost some relatives in different places in Broward County and abroad.
“I would venture to say that we had people affected by COVID and seriously hospitalized with consequences from the pandemic, but we haven’t lost as many people as I thought in the beginning we could lose, vulnerable people, because they have been followed the authority guidelines and [are being] vaccinated. My problem now is the youngsters who don’t believe that Covid is very serious. Those who may have underlying conditions without knowing it. Today, I noticed a lot of young people get vaccinated. It gives me a great satisfaction to see the church has been able to serve as a great source of information,” concluded the rector of St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church in Plantation.
Marjorie Duplan said she had a good experience at the event, adding that it only took her about 20 minutes from the time she showed up until she received her shot.
“This is very efficient,” she said. “Everybody’s super nice. They made it very easy.”
Carline Bontemps, a RN case manager in Dade’s Primary Care office, was one of the professional medical volunteers in Saturday’s event.
She said she and many other nurse practitioners around the South Florida region have been getting involved with efforts to address vaccine accessibility and equity.
The event was also meaningful to Ms. Edwige Jean-Glaude (PMCC Vice-President), wife of its founder and CEO, Princeton Jean-Glaude, who assisted with the effort.
“I’m so happy to be a part of this so we can make sure we try to break some of the barriers that we see in these communities to have access to the vaccine,” she said.
Ms. Jean-Glaude said she hoped events like the one on Saturday, which included many bilingual staff, would help those in particular feel seen, heard, and supported through the pandemic.
Her husband, Princeton Jean-Glaude, shared her thoughts, saying, “Vaccination events like this specifically target underserved individuals. They will have a sweeping impact when it comes to community health and eventually moving out of the pandemic.”
The CEO of Primary Medical Care Center & Urgent Care Clinic emphasized that a vaccinated family member can help protect others while also encouraging them to get vaccinated themselves.
He concluded, “Everything counts. This little small community can make a huge difference.”
Dessalines Ferdinand / LE FLORIDIEN