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Eric Moreno

Eric Moreno is a Content Curator with the Salud America! program at UT Health San Antonio. He specializes in covering the topics of health equity and family and social support. He holds a BA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an MA from Gonzaga University.


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Articles by Eric Moreno

Health Spending for the U.S. Reaches over $3 Trillion in 2016



The national health expenditure, the amount of money Americans spend each year on healthcare, is expected to have grown by nearly 6% in 2016 and it is expected to continue this growth annually through 2025. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a report entitled “Web First” that projects this growth by using the current framework of the healthcare system. At the projected rate, national health spending will outpace the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States by 1.2%. The reason for this rise in expenditures is largely due to the faster growth of medical prices. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and policies. Join our site, connect with others, and get ...

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New Grant Funds Promotoras in Sacramento



In the Latino community, promotoras de salud are often invaluable parts of the healthcare process. Often times, they are critical in removing cultural barriers that prevent Latinos from accessing quality healthcare. A project in Sacramento, Calif. (28.08% Latino population), is looking to create even more promotoras in the area. The Sacramento Region Community Foundation recently provided a grant to Empower Yolo’s “Promotoras for Active Living” Project. The mission of Empower Yolo is “to promote safe, healthy and resilient communities.” The promotoras they hire are often past clients or lay members of the community who have been trained to “deliver culturally appropriate health education” to the friends and neighbors. In order to reduce health disparities, it is ...

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New List Cites the Healthiest & Unhealthiest Cities in the U.S.



For many Americans, where they live often dictates how healthy they are. For Latinos, where they live often creates inequities and disparities; residential segregation often leads to a lack of access to care, lack of educational attainment, and financial inequity. The financial site WalletHub examined the notion of healthy cities recently. Cities across the country promote overall health and wellbeing through numerous initiatives ranging from access to nutritious food to creating recreation and fitness facilities to preserving and promoting green spaces or keeping healthcare costs affordable. Still, many cities are unable to or have not yet made such large-scale changes as these. Without these areas being prioritized, good health can be difficult to maintain, especially for ...

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Group Begins Organizing Promotoras in Northern California



Promotoras have long been acknowledged as important agents of healthy change in Latino communities. Thanks in large part with their relationships in the community and the specialized health education they receive, promotoras are often able to reach Latinos that “traditional” health care workers cannot. In Northern California’s Sonoma Valley, the La Luz Center was founded to provide a variety of social and health services to the area’s burgeoning Latino population. Now, their new initiative will begin organizing and training promotoras to go into the community and promote healthy lifestyles. According to a story in the Sonoma Index-Tribune, the first group includes seven area women who received training from La Luz, the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center, and Sonoma Valley ...

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Park City School District Increases Efforts to “Reach” Latino Students



It is well-known that there is an undeniable link between education and health. Better educated people have longer life expectancies. For Latinos, barriers often exist between them and obtaining the best education possible, creating disparities between them and other races and ethnic groups. In Park City, Utah (16.43% Latino population), the local school district is taking extra measures to reach out to its growing Latino student base. A new, deliberate, concerted effort has been undertaken to reach out to the area’s growing Latino residents to “ensure all students in Park City schools receive a top-flight education.” The Park City School District hired Eric Esquivel last year to be the Latino Community Relations Specialist and head the new Latino Advocacy Team. The group has ...

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New Outreach Efforts Underway to Reach Oregon’s Growing Latino Population



The Latino population is growing across the country. They are currently the nation’s largest racial/ethnic minority group. Currently, 1 in 6 people today are of Latino ancestry; by 2035, that number is expected to be 1 in 4. In the state of Oregon, a new report shows that Latinos make up 12% of the state’s population, up from 8% in 2000. In many communities, those numbers are even larger. In the Umatilla School District in eastern Oregon, the number of Latino students currently is set at 65%, up from 42% in 2001. This rapid growth has accounted for some challenges for school district officials. This diverse and growing population calls for more updated methods of communication and outreach. “What families need at 42 percent Hispanic is far different than what they need at ...

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Connecting the 3 E’s – Webinar Ties Together Housing & Health Outcomes



The connection between housing and health is an indisputable one. Living in a health hazard-free home is important for everyone – especially children – to living healthy successful lives. The presence of hazardous materials in many homes, including lead-based paints, mold, and pests threaten the health and safety of many children living in low-income homes. An upcoming webinar by the National League of Cities will discuss the importance that municipal governments have in enforcing local building codes and inspecting properties for code violations that might negatively impact health. The webinar, entitled Connecting the 3 E’s: The Importance of Equity, Enforcement and Engagement in Advancing City Healthy Housing Efforts, will take place on Wednesday, February 22 at 1:00pm ...

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Rural Latinos More Likely to Die from Top 5 Causes of Death


Latino farm boy in poverty and food insecurity

Latinos and others living in rural areas are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, stroke, and unintentional injuries than their urban counterparts. These top-five causes of death account for 62% of all U.S. deaths. Among those living in rural areas, over 70,000 of these deaths were preventable, The Washington Post reports on a CDC study, including 25,000 individuals who died from heart disease and 19,000 who died from cancer. Although just 15% of the U.S. population is considered rural, they tend to be older, in poorer health, have less income and healthcare, and weight more, smoke more, and have higher blood pressure than the urban population, the Post reports. Latinos face even higher risks of heart diseases because of the disparities in ...

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San Francisco Announces Free Community College for Residents



Achieving a quality education is one of the key, fundamental social determiners of health. People with higher education levels have better long-term health. More and more Latinos are enrolling in college. One city in the U.S. is looking to make access to higher education even more available than ever. Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco (15.3% Latino population) recently announced that the city would make college education free “to all its residents” through the City College of San Francisco. The plan will go into effect in 2018 and was made possible due to a tax on properties sold for at least $5 million. “To California residents who are living in San Francisco, your community college is now free,” Mayor Ed Lee said in an interview with USA Today. In order to ...

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