Rick Carrillo Gives Latino Health a Starring Role for Salud America!


Rick Carrillo, Video, Salud America!

In the movie The Killing Strain, Juan “Rick” Carrillo plays a soldier who escapes a helicopter crash to lead a group of flu-epidemic survivors to safety. On screen, he was a nothing-can-stop-him hero. Off screen, Carrillo struggled fighting the elements—mountain cedar had him blowing his nose, taking antihistamines and using his inhaler between takes. “I wasn’t feeling 100%, but the scenes captured during filming were very effective in telling the story of this gutsy soldier,” Carrillo said. “This always reminds me the great power a camera has on creating a world for audiences to absorb and be part of.” Today, Carrillo uses his acting and film-making experience as a Video Production Manager for Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, a national program that ...

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Largest Urban Natural Area in Texas Gets Natural Playscape, Trail



Texas State Parks are opening new natural play areas for children and people with disabilities to play and connect with nature. Latino kids in Texas (39.1% Latino), and across the country, lack safe outdoor places to play and be active, which is known as a nature deficit disorder. Families struggle to find green space that is both fun and appropriate for all age ranges. Particularly Latino families, which are often multigenerational. Childhood development leaders, architects, educators and urban planners worked together to design plans for natural playscapes in various outdoor spaces, like state parks, local parks, zoos, and botanical gardens to better engage kids and families with nature. Natural playscapes are designed to be built using natural materials and include boulders, ...

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Fresno Community Blue and Green Spaces Program Opens School Pools


Latino Health pools blue space swimming

Schools in Fresno, CA (52.8% Latino) opened their green and blue spaces to the public. Green spaces are parks, playgrounds, sports fields and other outdoor play spaces. Blue spaces are swimming pools, lakes and rivers. Latino kids lack safe green and blue spaces, thus face higher rates of chronic disease, drowning, and drowning related injuries compared to white kids. In June 2016, the Fresno Parks, After School, Recreation, and Community Services Department (PARCS) started a new Weekend Recreation and Fitness Program (WRFP) to get help kids and families stay more active. With a $1.2 million dollar budget from the City of Fresno, Fresno Unified School District, and Central Unified School District, they opened school facilities, like playgrounds, sports fields and green space, ...

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Study: Latinos Are Closing the Big Gap in Access to Healthcare


latino doctor with patient

Latinos have far less health insurance coverage than their white and black peers. But disparities in access to healthcare have narrowed for Latinos, compared to whites, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and healthcare.gov in English and Spanish, according to a new report. The Commonwealth Fund report shows: The uninsured rate for Latinos adults dropped by 12 percentage points from 2013 to 2015. That's a larger decline than among blacks (9 percentage points) and whites (5 percentage points). The share of Latino adults who skipped doctor’s visits because of costs decreased by 5 percentage points, from 27% percent to 22%. That's a larger decline than among whites (2 percentage points). The share of black and of Hispanic adults age 18 and older without a usual ...

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Back-to-School = Time for Kids to Get Covered


kids at school bus stop

Schools are welcoming back students for another year of education. It’s also the time of year for parents to think about getting children covered with health insurance. Latinos are currently the largest ethnic and racial minority in the United States. They are also the largest uninsured population in the country. As their population continues to grow, it is going to be crucial for all Latinos to have access to quality healthcare. This starts with Latino children. The Connecting Kids to Coverage campaign was created for purposes such as these. With the goal of helping parents and families find the resources they are eligible for, such as Medicaid and CHIP, the campaign has launched a series of online, bilingual resources. “The Campaign lets families know who is ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 9/12: Healthy Minds and Latino Kids



Nearly 1 in 5 Latino adults suffers a mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress. But what's the state of mental health for Latino kids? Use #SaludTues on Sept. 12, 2017, to tweetchat with us as we explore the new Salud America! "Healthy Minds and Latino Kids" research review! The new research review, to be released during the chat, will cover the latest data on mental health and access to care among Latino youth. The review also features programs and policies that promote healthy minds in communities, schools, and homes for Latino kids. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: Healthy Minds and Latino Kids TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. EST Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludAmerica CO-HOSTS: @APAEducation; ...

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Mississippi Governor Urges Training Day Care Workers to Improve Early Education



The first few years are critical for preparing kids for life, yet early childcare employees are the least prepared. They often only have a high school degree, thus aren’t equipped to give kids the care and services they need during their formative years. Mississippi Governor, Phil Bryant, told residents at the Neshoba County Fair in July 2017 that he plans to improve early childhood education across the state by training day care workers. He hopes to use federal and state funds to provide training through the state’s 15 community colleges, at no cost to the workers, according to one source. According to Governor Bryant’s Twitter account, “Our community colleges are now educating our childcare workers on early childhood education best practices. Our children deserve the ...

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Health Workers Start Mega Baby Showers for Moms in Need



Kori Eberle calls early and steady prenatal care the “best gift a baby can receive” for healthy early childhood development. That’s why Eberle coordinates home visits, screenings, and parenting and health education for vulnerable women from pregnancy to their baby’s second birthday as part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health) Healthy Start program in San Antonio (63.2% Latino population). Eberle and Metro Health’s Healthy Start program want most of all to reduce disparities in the local infant death rate, which is higher for low-income, Latino, and African American families. Sadly, Eberle found that not enough moms-to-be know about their resources or get the help they need to ensure a healthy delivery and proper early brain ...

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How to Help Latinos Enroll, Graduate from College


Learning latin female student with curly hair

Did you know: In King County, Washington (9.28% Latino population), only 1 in 4 of all Latino high-school graduates go on to earn a college degree? This is in stark contrast to the region’s 1 in 2 Asian and white students who earn a degree. In an effort to help Latinos both enroll in and succeed in college once they get there, Highline College has created the innovative Puente program. As part of this initiative, just 25 students – most are first-generation Latino students who are the first members of their families to attend college – are “banded” together for the course of their studies. Culturally focused learning community Education determines a lot about a person’s life. Education factors into their health, where they live, their access to resources, and their ...

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