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Josh McCormack

Digital Content Curator, Salud America! Josh McCormack joined Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health​ San Antonio, in February 2019. Graduating from Texas A&M University with a BA in English Literature, he has previously worked in journalism and publishing. Josh enjoys reading; some of his favorite authors include Stephen King, Omar El Akkad and J.R.R. Tolkien.​

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Articles by Josh McCormack

Report: Increasing SNAP Benefits Only Helps the Economy


Increasing SNAP Benefits Helps Economy

Food stamps began in America during another national crisis, the Great Depression — now, during the coronavirus pandemic, government programs are advocating for expansion. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) received a big increase in federal support from the USDA on Wednesday. Moreover, a recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson’s Healthy Eating Research program shows that this kind of investment only helps families and the American economy. “In a time of economic uncertainty, increasing SNAP benefits is a proven policy approach to stimulate the economy, reduce economic hardship, and improve health,” the report states. “Future federal recovery policy approaches should consider SNAP’s proven ability to lift people out of poverty, purchase healthy food, ...

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65% of Latinos Are Losing Jobs, Money Thanks to Coronavirus


Losing Jobs Money Coronavirus Latinos 65

Recent polling on coronavirus-related unemployment is illuminating alarming statics — mainly, Latinos are bearing the burden of the economic tidal wave impacting the U.S. Nearly 65% of Latino respondents reported losing jobs, experiencing monetary struggles, or know someone who has, according to a recent poll from SOMOS Community Care and Latino Decisions. Latinos already experience high levels of coronavirus negative impact, exposure, and death. "There's a large part of the Latino community that exists on the edges of American society,” Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro told Newsweek. “This pandemic has shown the consequences of some of the inequities in our system.” What does the Poll Report? SOMOS—a New York-based network of physicians serves low-income, minority, and ...

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Salud Talks Podcast Episode 27: “Healthcare Access, or Lack Thereof”


STE26 Healthcare Access Webpic

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps throughout the U.S., one personal and political issue is taking center stage for most: the cost of and access to quality healthcare. Statistically, Latinos and other disadvantaged groups experience some of the worst outcomes of those concerns. Moreover, experts say it will only get worse as this outbreak endures. Earlier this year and prior to the spread of COVID-19, Dr. Mateo Benegas, a health services researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, joined Salud Talks to address these issues and how the healthcare system is serving and not serving all patients equally. Check out this discussion on the Salud Talks Podcast, Episode 26, "Healthcare Access, or Lack Thereof"! WHAT: A #SaludTalks discussion about "Healthcare ...

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Comment Now: Protect Our Waters from Toxic Coal Ash


Protect Waters Toxic Coal Ash

The EPA wants to roll back water protections — again. In 2015, the Obama-era administration enacted the Coal Ash Rule, which provided water protections against toxic waste from coal-fired power plants. Now, the current EPA administration is hoping to diminish those protections, and give the plants more time and power to dump waste continually — all of which will impact the surrounding areas' groundwater. Environmental justice leaders say these rollbacks would worsen damage that has been done for years. "Instead of having a single strong national set of public health protections for this polluting industry, we are going to be left with federal regulations that are riddled with loopholes," Tom Cmar, an attorney with the environmental group Earthjustice,  told NPR. Submit ...

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Latinos, Disadvantaged Groups Bear Burden of the Economic Fallout 


Latinos Disadvantaged Groups Economic Fallout

As American markets reel from the COVID-19 pandemic, people of color and other groups facing systemic injustice are experiencing the harshest consequences of this financial disaster. Update 5/7/20: More than 33.5 million people have filed for unemployment in the past four weeks since the spread of the current novel coronavirus hit the U.S. Worse, the Latino community is and will continue to face some of the harshest economic—as well as health—burdens from this disease. "We know that when the economy goes into decline, people of color always bear the brunt," Teresa Candori, communications director for the National Urban League, told USA Today. "We will be fighting to make sure the most vulnerable communities are not an afterthought." Latinos and Coronavirus Job Loss by the ...

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Salud Talks Podcast Episode 26: “Mindfulness During an Epidemic”


STE26 webpic Mindfulness During an Epidemic

Last week, we began a discussion on how people across the country are experiencing new levels of anxiety and depression amid this global pandemic. Unique stressors, such as sheltering in place the time or experiencing new financial struggles, are causing issues in most homes throughout the U.S. While these problems might not be resolved in the near future, as civic and business leaders deal with the consequences of the outbreak, it is essential that Latinos and all Americans find ways to battle back against these mental health complications. Dr. Sarah Knoeckel, a Nurse Practitioner and an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at UT Health San Antonio returns to discuss how mental health should not be stigmatized and how we all can practice wellness techniques. Check out ...

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Reports: People of Color are More Likely to Die from Coronavirus


People of Color More Likely Die Coronavirus

Systemic, health inequities impacting disadvantaged groups are rampant in America and they're causing those individuals to suffer worse, even fatal, COVID-19 outcomes. Early reports suggested that those disparities would play a role in the current coronavirus spread, making minority groups, including Latinos, more likely to suffer severe harm. Now, weeks into the American pandemic, early reports from hotbed areas—such as Oregon and New York City—are proving that prediction true. "There are clear inequalities, clear disparities in how this disease is affecting the people of our city," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told the New York Times. "So many people struggle to get the healthcare they need, who didn't have the money to afford the healthcare they deserved. So many ...

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Salud Talks Podcast Episode 25: “Mental Health and the Global Pandemic”


STE25 Webpic Mental health and the global pandemic

The coronavirus outbreak has caused severe changes to the fabric of our society. Many Americans are now facing shelter in place orders, new work from home routines, and other alterations to everyday life. These shifts, as well as the pandemic itself, are forcing us all to grapple with new problems and begin to ask further questions. One issue that is at the forefront of many healthcare providers' minds is something most might not have considered being an issue before: mental health. Whether someone has or has not experienced complications such as depression and anxiety, Dr. Sarah Knoeckel, a Nurse Practitioner and an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at UT Health San Antonio, joins Salud Talks to discuss mental health and how everyone can identify when we are not mentally ...

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Coronavirus Is Hitting People in Poverty the Hardest


Coronavirus Poverty Hardest system justification

Lack of access to healthy food, insufficient health insurance coverage, living paycheck-to-paycheck — all issues that have impacted U.S. low-income families for decades. Sadly, experts say these problems are worsening as the current novel coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to spread. This leaves the millions of men, women, and children, including the 3 million people who have recently lost their jobs, at risk of more issues than just becoming sick. Latinos—many of whom fall below the poverty line—could face significant hardship without a dedicated response from local, state, and federal leaders. "What we are seeing around the country is that we're operating and telling people to do things from the position of wealth," Rev. William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's ...

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