(L-R) Students Carlos Perez, Maria Silva, Paty Spencer and Christy Pool lead the charge to Repair with Care.
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Maria Silva, Carlos Perez, Christy Pool and Paty Spencer are taking on a challenging class project to complete their physician assistant studies master’s degree at the Health Science Center. They seek to lead a volunteer team to do home repair in a low-income area of the Southwest Side of San Antonio.

The “Repair with Care” project will begin at the Madonna Neighborhood Center, 1906 Castroville Rd., at 7 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, and 7 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 26. Participants will divide into project teams and receive directions and supplies. Lunch will be provided. Water will also be provided, but participants need to bring a bottle or cup to refill. “Saturday will be a full day of work until 4 p.m., while Sunday will consist of finishing projects from Saturday,” Silva said. “This area is near San Fernando Cemetery, where U.S. 90 hits General McMullen.”

Volunteers – and the students hope there will be many – will help primarily senior citizens with fixes designed to improve health, such as replacing damaged screen doors to keep out mosquitoes, replacing unusable toilets, and removing brush that can harbor rats and roaches. The services will be at no cost to the seniors. “We are seeking donors and skilled volunteers,” Silva said. “The senior citizens will not be charged a dime.”

Skills needed include carpentry, door installation, drywall/plasterer, floor repair, painting, window repair and plumbing. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, call (210) 567-8810.

Silva thanked Border Ornamental Iron and Fence Co. Inc. for its donation.

Projects such as this are designed to produce well-rounded physician assistants who are active in the communities in which they practice. Development of a community medicine project is a capstone requirement for completion of the master’s degree program in physician assistant studies at the Health Science Center.



Contact: Will Sansom
Phone: (210) 567-2579
E-mail: sansom@uthscsa.edu