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As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Salud America! is spotlighting some amazing Latinos.
Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías blazed a trail for Latinos in public health. Rodríguez-Trías helped children as a pediatrician, advocated for rights for women and the underserved, and became the first Latina president of the American Public Health Association.
Let’s explore her career, accomplishments, and how her legacy continues to inspire Latinos in health and medicine today!
Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías: Early Life and Stepping Stones
Helen Rodríguez-Trías was born in 1929 in New York but spent much of her early childhood in Puerto Rico. At the age of 10, Rodríguez-Trías returned to New York with her family.
Rodríguez-Trías would learn English quickly and did well in school.
However, she would also face racism and discrimination as she grew up a Latina in a big city.
“In Puerto Rico, racism was subtle. There wasn’t the kind of separatist racism like in the US. I wasn’t used to this,” Rodríguez-Trías said in an interview from a 2002 article in the American Journal of Public Health.
Despite her good grades, Rodriguez-Trais would be placed in a class for “the poor students.”
That is, until she recited a poem – by heart – in front of her sixth-grade class after being called upon by her teacher, who would mover her to an upper-level class.
“All this must have been because of my [Latino] name. It wasn’t the grades. I might have just as well gone down the tubes academically if that teacher hadn’t moved me out of that class,” according to Rodríguez-Trías. “This is an example of how pivotal teachers are. So many children are misplaced, tracked, or put in environments that don’t foster learning.”
Rodríguez-Trías dreamed of doing something that combined her favorite things, science and people.
So, she set goals to become a physician. But this would prove to be harder than expected.
While Rodríguez-Trías’ mother was a schoolteacher in Puerto Rico, she wasn’t able to obtain a teaching license in New York, due to her bilingualism, causing the family to struggle.
Because of this, her mother encouraged Rodríguez-Trías to seek higher education in Puerto Rico.
Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías: Education and Medical Career Journey
Rodríguez-Trías began her education at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan in 1948.
There, she would find interest and participate in the movement for Puerto Rican independence, adding to her passion for activism.
“Then my brother, who was helping me with college expenses, said if I were in a political movement he would no longer help me,” Rodríguez-Trías said in an interview from a 2002 article in the American Journal of Public Health.
Rodríguez-Trías returned to New York City. She married and had three children.
Ultimately, she decided to return to school to study medicine in San Juan.
In 1957, Rodríguez-Trías graduated from the University of Puerto Rico. In 1960, she earned her medical degree with highest honors from the university’s medical school at age 31.
Soon after, she would also give birth to her fourth child.
During her residency, Rodríguez-Trías would establish the first center for the care of newborn babies in Puerto Rico.
Following this, the hospital’s death rate for newborns decreased 50% within three years under Rodríguez-Trías’ direction.
Rodríguez-Trías returned to New York City in 1970 and began community-based medicine as the director of pediatrics at Lincoln Hospital, advocating for women’s and maternal health and serving a largely Puerto Rican section of the South Bronx.
During her tenure, Rodríguez Trías trained her staff on the health needs of Puerto Ricans.
Further, her work and personal experiences made her pay attention to the ways poverty, inequality, and racism led to poor health, according to the National Parks Service.
“She worked to change the disproportionate sterilization of poor women, women of color, and women with disabilities — which was conducted not only at a much higher rate than their white, middle-class counterparts, but also often without consent,” according to Family Planning of South Central New York.
Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías: Advocacy for Women’s Health
Rodríguez-Trías would become a prominent advocate within the women’s health movement, focusing on the areas of reproductive rights and maternal health.
“During the 1970s, she brought that understanding to the growing women’s health movement,” according to the National Parks Service.
The women’s health movement fought to end sexism and abuse in healthcare.
“At the time of Rodriguez Trias’ involvement in the movement, sterilization abuse had run rampant in the United States for decades. It arose from the eugenics movement of the early 1900s, which saw sterilization as a necessary public health policy to prevent damage to society from the ‘feebleminded’ or ‘deviant,’” according to the Drexel University College of Medicine.
Rodríguez-Trías was a founding member of both the Committee to End Sterilization Abuse and the Committee for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization Abuse.
“In the United States, African American, Puerto Rican, Chicano, indigenous, and poor women have been more likely to be sterilized than White women from the same or higher socioeconomic classes,” according to an interview from a 2002 article in the American Journal of Public Health.
Rodríguez-Trías also testified before the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for passage of federal sterilization guidelines in 1979.
“The guidelines, which she helped draft, require a woman’s written consent to sterilization, offered in a language they can understand, and set a waiting period between the consent and the sterilization procedure,” according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
On top of that work, Rodríguez-Trías also served as medical director of the New York State Department of Health of AIDS Institute, further advocating for women and children with HIV.
Dr. Helen Rodríguez-Trías: A Legacy in Public Health
Rodríguez-Trías got involved in several causes and organizations throughout her career.
She attended her first American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting in 1971. Along with nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals, they created the Women’s Caucus, and later help co-found the APHA’s Hispanic Caucus.
In 1993, Rodríguez-Trías became the first Latina to be elected president of the American Public Health Association.
In 2001, Rodríguez-Trías received a Presidential Citizens Medal for her “lifetime of work expanding access to public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations across the United States — and around the world,” according to Family Planning of South Central New York.
In that same year, Rodríguez-Trías passed away due to complications from cancer at age 72.
APHA established the Helen Rodriguez-Trias Social Justice Award in 2005 to recognize a person who has worked toward social justice for underserved and disadvantaged populations, including the activities of leading, advocating and mentoring.
Rodríguez-Trías left a legacy of work and dedication to women’s health and the health equity for underserved communities, paving the way for minorities and women in health, as well as highlighted the need for access to health for all.
“We cannot achieve a healthier us without achieving a healthier, more equitable health care system, and ultimately, a more equitable society,” Rodríguez-Trías said.
Improving Health in Latino Communities
Like Rodríguez-Trías, you too can advocate for health equity in your community.
Get a customized Salud America! Health Equity Report Card for your town and explore maps and data visualizations that shows inequities in local access to healthcare, food, education, and other social determinants of health.
Compare the results from your county with other counties and states across the nation.
Share your results with health organizations and local leaders to advocate for change and start important conversations about health disparities in your community.
By The Numbers
142
Percent
Expected rise in Latino cancer cases in coming years
This success story was produced by Salud America! with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The stories are intended for educational and informative purposes. References to specific policymakers, individuals, schools, policies, or companies have been included solely to advance these purposes and do not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation. Stories are based on and told by real community members and are the opinions and views of the individuals whose stories are told. Organization and activities described were not supported by Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and do not necessarily represent the views of Salud America! or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
