With the emergence of COVID-19, which continues to disproportionately impact Latinos, the world saw first-hand why public health is so important. To help Americans recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden Administration passed the American Rescue Plan in 2021. Since then, funds have been allocated to improve the health and wellbeing of Americans, including more than $226M to grow the community and public health workforce. Announced on Sept. 30, 2022, this large sum will specifically help train community health workers (CHWs) who connect people to healthcare, build trust within communities, and facilitate communication between patients and healthcare providers, according to a US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) press release. "Patients depend on community and ...
Wanda Montalvo sat at her desk working on paperwork, she could hear nurses and physicians bustling about in the lobby. It was the 1980s, and Wanda was proud to be the secretary for the medical director’s office at the local community health center in Brooklyn, New York. Wanda saw her position as “paying it forward,” as she depended on community health centers growing up in a low-income and underinsured Latino household. However, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more she could do to give back to her community. After earning her Bachelor of Nursing degree, the first-generation college student went on to earn her master’s degree in nursing from Long Island University and her PhD in nursing science and health policy from Columbia University in New ...
Thirteen-year-old Ricardo Correa sat in the pediatric endocrinologist’s office alongside his mother, listening with fascination and soaking up information like a sponge. When the appointment ended, he returned to his home in Panama and spent the next few years learning more about his own health and taking every opportunity to help others who were sick or hurt. By age 18, Ricardo knew he wanted to become a doctor who could stop the spread of infectious diseases and help prevent chronic diseases. “When I was a kid, my mother always said that I could do two things in my life,” Ricardo Correa, MD, EdD, said. “One was being a singer and another being a doctor. Of course, the singer part never worked out – I was not privileged to have a voice. But the doctor part always was ...
The Biden Administration has reversed the 2019 public charge policy changes implemented by the Trump Administration, according to the US Department of Homeland Security. The final rule was published on Sept. 9, 2022 and will go into effect on Dec. 23, 2022. The 2022 “fair and humane” public charge rule will benefit Latino immigrant families, as it will help address the “chilling effects” of the 2019 rule. Here’s what you need to know.
What is Public Charge?
A person is considered a “public charge” if they would be reliant on certain public benefits upon entry into the US. If someone is considered a public charge, officials can deny their entry into the US or modifications to their citizenship status.
What Changed Under the 2019 Public Charge Rule?
Before ...
In a modest house in Maryvale, Arizona, a young Latino boy watched wide-eyed as the famous artist, Bob Ross, painted a masterpiece on TV. With each brush stroke and happy little tree, the boy’s excitement grew in anticipation for the end result – a beautiful piece of landscape art. The boy grew even more excited as he realized two of his other artistic role models – Mr. Rogers and Levar Burton from Reading Rainbow – would appear on TV later that day. Feeling inspired, the boy – Edward Dennis – scurried off to sketch some drawings and work on his own passion and talent for art. Now grown up, Edward is a freelance artist with an impressive resume that includes clients like Disney, Shimano, Giant Bicycles, Toyota, and various video game companies. But his ...
Latinos make up almost 19% of the total US population, but account for only 6% of US physicians. This lack of Latino representation in medicine negatively affects Latino patient health. For example, Latinos may be less likely to get the care they need due to physician implicit bias and language and cultural barriers. Studies also show that a lack of diversity in healthcare workers contributes to heath inequities, such as higher rates of maternal health issues in Latinas and worse health outcomes for Latino cancer patients, compared to their white counterparts. To boost diversity, Drs. Michael Galvez and Cesar Padilla are leading the effort to celebrate Oct. 1, 2022, as National Latino/a Physician’s Day. “We need more Latino and Latinas in medicine that are able to take ...
“Reservoirs” are where germs live, like a habitat. Things we do in healthcare can be pathways for germs to be carried from one reservoir to another, or into spaces that are not supposed to have any germs.
Too Touchy
Hands, for instance, touch almost everything. Your hands and skin can pick up germs in the environment, from multiple reservoirs, and spread germs to other surfaces or people if not properly disinfected. Germs from the skin and gastrointestinal reservoirs spread easily through touch.
Pathways for Germs to Invade
Germs can also spread when they’re breathed in or through splashes or sprays to the eyes, nose, and mouth, or to broken or unhealthy skin. For example, urine and snot can get into breaks in the skin, or be splashed or sprayed into the eyes, nose, and ...
Everything is bigger in Texas – except wages, worker protections, and the right to organize, according to a recent study by Oxfam, an organization dedicated to fighting poverty and injustices. After analyzing each state’s wage policies, worker protections, and the right to organize, Texas ranked 48th out of 52 (including Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico) in Oxfam’s “Best States to Work Index.” In comparison, Oregon, California, and Washington placed first, second, and third, respectively. What does this mean for Latinos, who make up 40.2% of Texas’ population? First, let’s take a closer look at Oxfam’s study.
Wage Policies
Oxfam’s evaluation criteria for this category included the ratio of the state minimum wage to the cost of living for a family of four, ...
The pandemic revealed long-standing gaps in infection control knowledge and understanding among the frontline healthcare workforce. This is why CDC launched Project Firstline, a training and education collaborative designed to ensure all healthcare workers, no matter their role or educational background, have the infection control knowledge and understanding they need and deserve to protect themselves, their patients, and their coworkers. Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, in partnership with the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) and CDC Project Firstline, brings you a three-part episode podcast series, “Behind the Mask,” to explore infection control through three specific and diverse healthcare lenses: patient navigators/health screeners/community health ...
