After United Way's Young Leaders Society, the Robla School District and the Health Education Council helped raise over $25,000 dollars to provide hydration stations at each school in the Robla School District (54% Latino), the district went a step further for health, literally. How? In the fall of 2015, after the Health Education Council met with students in their classrooms educating them on sugary beverages, the council also met with a small parent group at Taylor Street Elementary School to teach them about how to "Rethink Your Drink", educating parents on how much sugar is in the average soda, juices, and teas. Parents learned so much from the workshop that they wanted to know what else they could learn about. This conversation led to weekly nutrition workshops provided by ...
When she needed more money to support her own private-school education, Angelika Gutierrez became the youngest teller at a New Jersey bank at age 16. That’s how hard Gutierrez will work to achieve her goals. Now, buoyed by her resilient upbringing by her abuelita (grandma), the Ecuadorian-Puerto Rican went on to become a first-generation college graduate and now is a master-degree public health student at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. Gutierrez has a passion for studying the U.S.-Puerto Rico relationship’s effect on Puerto Rican health disparities, and strengthening the health systems in Latin America. That’s why she applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program, which recruits 25 master’s-level students and professionals ...
Beatrice, a Latina mom of two, quit smoking in her late 30s. Her sons were her inspiration. “When my son was 11, he wrote me a letter and in it he asked me to quit smoking,” said Beatrice, who started smoking at age 7, in a video segment on why she quit. “And when I was going through the process of quitting, that letter was very motivating for me. I want to be here for my family.” Beatrice, who tells her story in the CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers video series, is an example of how campaigns can encourage Latinos to quit smoking by focusing on cultural differences, language, and the importance of family, experts say, according to a report by American Heart Association News. Smoking rates vary among Latino ethnic groups. Although smoking rates are lower among U.S. ...
Jose Ramos never gives up. He learned how to persevere from his mother, who survived breast cancer. So, after becoming the first in his family to graduate high school and college, Ramos is aiming high for an MD/PhD. He is currently studying global disease as a master’s student at Columbia University. He has an internship with the Brazilian Health Association to work on community-based cancer and disease research. Last year, he took another big step—he applied for Éxito!. Today Ramos is among two-dozen 2016 grads of the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program, which annually recruits 25 master’s-level students and professionals for a five-day summer institute and internship opportunities to encourage pursuit of doctoral degrees and careers studying ...
Rosie Salazar has a keepsake L.A. Dodgers apron that reminds her of her mother’s love for family and cooking—and her fight against breast cancer. Even undergoing treatment for cancer, her mom tried hard to cook, clean, and remain strong. Salazar took that lesson of strength and turned it into a positive life outlook and tries to always make people laugh and smile. Now she’s aiming to apply her attitude to solving health and obesity issues. Salazar, who earned a bachelor’s degree in health science at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in 2006, worked in the emergency medical field for five years. Treating patients with chronic diseases inspired her to create health promotion programs, and she obtained her master’s degree in public health, too. Salazar ...
On January 31, 2017, the latest period of Open Enrollment for health care coverage ended with more than 9.2 million plans selected in states that use the HealthCare.gov eligibility and enrollment platform. This marks a 25% increase from the previous year. The Open Enrollment period saw about 3 million are new consumers sign up for coverage through the Marketplace. This accounts 33% of all plan selections being from new consumers. Over 4.2 million Latinos have gained health insurance since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This has lowered the rate of Latino uninsured by 7.7%. 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 ...
Students are encouraged to eat healthy lunches, but what if there was a program to increase efforts of consumption of fruits and vegetables while in school? Now students at Meramec Elementary are enjoying more fruits and vegetables in their diets at school. The school was also selected as a 2016 Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) School Foodservice Role Model for its efforts to increase fruits and vegetable consumption for their students and staff. How? Meramec's school Nurse, Caren Etling helped started the school's Science Garden in the Spring of 2015, encouraging students to learn about plants, crops, harvesting and healthy eating. Students planted corn, beans, native Missouri plants and a variety of herbs. Etling encouraged teachers to teach students about valuable ...
On February third, the Ordot -Chalan Pago Elementary School (OCPES) kicked off the school-wide event for a SNAP-Ed program called "Fit Fridays" to encourage students to have at least one hour of regular physical activity every day. Health champions that helped lead the event were Principal of OCPES, Tricia Moylan and School Nurse, Leah Landstrom. Ordot-Chalan Pago is a pilot village for the program, where schools signed on back in December of 2016, to help roll out many Fit Fridays and become leaders and champions with the 5-2-1-Almost None pledge with SNAP-ED. The campaign for the 5-2-1-Almost None is supported by a partnership between the UOG college of Natural and Applied Sciences and the Department of Public Health and Social Services through SNAP-Ed. To learn more about ...
Growing up, Jacklyn Samano’s mother insisted that she practice her Spanish and made her write things over and over until she got it right. That lesson of persistence is paying off for Samano. Samano, who dreams of one day leading her own public health research center and discovering ways to incorporate a better quality of care to help Latino families lead healthier lives, already has made great strides toward her goal. The Los Angeles native earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2013. She spent her undergraduate years working with teams like Chicanos for Community Medicine, UCLA Pediatric Neurology, and Senior Smiles. Now, as a master’s student in public health at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, ...
