More than 60 community members, leaders, friends and family of the late Dr. Edward Leitão gathered on the 29th of January, at the Faialense Club, in Cambridge, to honor the beloved physician’s legacy and to award 2 scholarships to Portuguese-American medical students Tracey DaFonte of Norwood and Bryan Rego of Fall River.
Paulo Pinto, MPA, MAPS Executive Director
“We are honored to be the fiscal agent and provide organizational support for the Dr. Edward Leitão Memorial Scholarship Fund, in order to keep Dr. Leitão’s legacy of caring for our community alive, by encouraging Portuguese-American students to pursue medical careers,” said Paulo Pinto, MPA, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS). “Today, we honor Dr. Leitão. With your support, we will also raise funds in his memory for scholarships and celebrate future doctors in our communities.”
“I’m extremely honored to be awarded this scholarship and want to thank MAPS, my parents and the scholarship committee for putting their trust in me,” said Tracey DaFonte, a 4th-year medical student at the University of Vermont, one of the scholarship recipients. “I look forward to serving our communities and providing them with linguistically appropriate medical care.”
Tracey DaFonte, Scholarship recipient
Bryan Rego, a 1st-year medical student at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, also thanked the organizers and his family for the encouragement and support. “I hope to, one day, be able to give back to the Fund, and help to keep alive Dr. Leitão’s legacy,” he said.
“The Dr. Edward Leitão Memorial Scholarship Fund is very special, and these scholarships are helping future Portuguese-American physicians. It is important to encourage our younger generations to consider health careers, especially in Medicine,” said Helena Santos-Martins, MD, co-founder of the initiative. “We need more physicians who are culturally and linguistically sensitive to the unique needs of our communities.”
Bryan Rego, Scholarship recipient
The Leitão Fund Advisory Committee also took the opportunity to announce the addition of three new members: Ana Nava, PhD, Team Leader of the Portuguese Mental Health Clinic of the East Cambridge Health Center, Cambridge Health Alliance; Dr. Isabel Morais, Chief of Gynecology for the Steward Medical Group; and Rui Domingos, CEO of Naveo Credit Union. The current members are Helena Santos- Martins, MD, Attending Physician at the North Shore Medical Group, Dr. Stefanos Kales, Chief of Occupational Medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance and Associate Professor at the Harvard Medical School & School of Public Health, Daniel Leal, Academic Hospitalist at St. Mary’s hospital, in Waterbury, CT, and Paulo Pinto, MPA, MAPS Executive Director.
Helena Santos-Martins, Fund Co-Founder
The Dr. Edward Leitão fund, managed by MAPS, was created in 2015 in the name of the much-loved physician, who passed away earlier that year. It aims to fill the urgent need for more Portuguese-speaking medical professionals in the community. To donate to the Scholarship Fund, please visit https://maps-inc.org/PT/participate/donate/the-dr-edward-leitao-scholarship-fund/.