A new healthcare provider is coming to Southwest Detroit.

Medicina Urbina, a modern, holistic primary health care office, is celebrating its grand opening Thursday, Sept. 27 from 5 to 8 p.m. with Castalia cocktails featuring Detroit's own Cabresto Tequila and a DJ set from Vinnie Massimino of Portage Garage Sounds.

Dr. Mark Beard, founder of Medicina Urbina, combines osteopathic medical techniques with standard medical practices in his holistic approach to health and wellness. As an Osteopathic Physician, Dr. Beard specializes in using his hands to treat joint and muscle pain.

The doctor has taken a community-minded approach to health care, working in Michigan's underserved areas since 2008.
Dr. Mark Beard
"Medical care has been overrun by profit driven business, degrading one of the most sacred relationships: the one between patients and their physicians," Beard says.

"I started Medicina Urbana in my city to break free from that, and to serve my Detroit community with the skills I have."

Having located his practice in the heavily Latino neighborhoods of southwest Detroit, Dr. Beard notes that he offers bilingual services to better treat the Spanish-speaking population there.

Local partnerships include that with Cristo Rey High School and LaSed Senior Center, where he provides free blood pressure and blood sugar checks, also offering office hours for those with mobility challenges.

He's utilized Detroit's small business support system, too, having received entrepreneurial support and technical assistance from ProsperUS Detroit and TechTown's SWOT City program.

"I deferred medical school a year to teach English in Madrid. The experience had a profound effect on my life," Beard says. "I ate, drank, and loved the history and culture. I learned to play Flamenco guitar and to speak Spanish fluently."

"Southwest is a natural fit."

Medicina Urbina is located at 5700 W. Vernor Hwy. in Detroit.

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Photos by Juan Carlos Dueweke-Perez.