Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, has been named chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences (formerly Epidemiology and Biostatistics), announced Dr. Robert Hromas, dean of the Long School of Medicine. The appointment is effective June 1. Dr. Hromas also announced the department will be renamed the Department of Population Health Sciences. The new department will continue to provide services in all biological and medical analytical areas. It will also focus on efforts to use analytical tools to enhance the health of the unique populations in San Antonio and South Texas. Dr. Ramirez will continue to serve as director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research, which she ...
Many senior citizens live on fixed incomes. Unfortunately, programs such as Social Security aren’t always enough to pay for living expenses — including housing. U.S. housing costs are at its least affordable in 10 years. The rising price and the lack of affordable options strain the well-being of the seniors, especially Latinos.
The Issue of Housing Affordability for Seniors Many seniors are not as financially prepared for retirement as they would like. Their income may be reduced, and their lifestyle costs may increase as well. The house where they raised their kids may no longer fit their needs or their budget.
An increase in home prices could provide opportunities to relocate for retirement.
In fact, housing is often a terrible investment if not planned wisely. ...
Latinos on the U.S.-Mexico border struggle with debilitating illnesses for years, but often lack proper healthcare because of socioeconomic, accessibility, or other inequalities. Dr. Amelie Ramirez grew up seeing these disparities in South Texas. She was driving to pursue a public health education and tirelessly toil to establish projects that assist the underprivileged. Perhaps Ramirez’s most innovative project, Salud America! has worked since 2007 to create a wide-reaching library of resources and actions, which greatly impact the personal and public health mindset of advocates, schools, and policymakers. Salud America! content is vital to advance the well-being of Latinos, Ramirez said. “The health inequities Latinos face was then, and continues to be, something to ...
A lawsuit that claims manufacturing giant Johnson & Johnson’s powder products cause cancer resulted in the company facing a multimillion-dollar payout. The verdict, reached last week in Almeda County, California (22.5% Latino), was filed by Teresa Leavitt, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of tissue lining, in August 2017. Johnson & Johnson has known about and covered up potential dangers in their talc-based products since the 1970s, according to the New York Times. The company, however, disputes these claims.
Talc-Based Products and Latinos
In the 1990s, Johnson & Johnson executed a national marketing campaign that targeted Latino and African-American women in Baby Powder advertising. “Johnson’s Baby Powder has a high usage rate among African ...
Big Tech helps drive the economy. It also influences where and how people live. In fact, the biggest tech companies like Facebook are increasingly diving into housing policy. They're starting housing projects and investing in philanthropic affordable housing projects. This creates quite the contrast, Ankita Rao recently wrote for Vice. "On one hand, tech companies have helped fuel the housing crisis—sprawling across cities that are bursting at the seams with little investment in public infrastructure, and avoiding taxes that might help the poor and homeless at virtually every turn," Rao wrote. "On the other, they're positioning themselves as postmodern Robin Hoods, announcing plans to build apartments for rent and subsidize others" that look like "company towns."
How Big ...
Diana Centeno knows kids exposed to traumatic events don’t get the support they need at school. Doug Greene knows police come across kids at crime scenes but feel unable to help them cope. So, they teamed up to start a project where patrol officers send a notification to the district if a child was present at a traumatic incident, enabling monitoring and support for the child. Centeno, a student support leader at San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), is passionate about providing wrap-around, social-emotional services, particularly for children facing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Kids exposed to ACEs often act out in class, miss school, and fall behind, increasing their risk of dropping out, getting into criminal activities, and suffering from poor ...
Incomplete streets cover Tucson. Sadly, each year, 50 people are killed and 5,000 injured on streets in this 43% Latino town. Half of major streets don’t have sidewalks, and people face dangerous congested roads and limited access to public transit to get to work, medical appointments, and more. But that could change soon. In February 2019, the Tucson City Council voted 7-0 to pass a Complete Streets policy to fund, plan, design, and build streets with all users in mind.
How Advocates Pushed Complete Streets in Tucson
Nationwide, cities are adopting Complete Streets policies. These streets meet the needs of people walking, people biking, people taking transit, and people driving, regardless of age or ability. These streets are especially needed in areas with large Latino ...
Congratulations to Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, on being named President of the Board of Directors for The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST)! TAMEST is a premier scientific organization that unites the brightest scientists and researchers across Texas. Ramirez, elected to a two-year term, will help supervise all programs and affairs. She also will serve as representative of the organization. “I look forward to helping guide TAMEST's efforts to make Texas a premier destination for world-class research in medicine, engineering, science and technology," Ramirez said. "Together we will work to improve the lives of our citizens and grow the economy."
Dr. ...
We're hiring! Apply now for a "digital content curator" position with our communication team at Salud America!, our national Latino health equity organization based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio. This position involves using content curation to write, edit, and communicate health content and messages. Activities include: establish and maintain relationships with key partners/stakeholders/organizations
mine internal and external media/online resources to identify, collect, organize, write, edit, and schedule various digital and multimedia content types to promote on Salud America!’s online, social, and email platforms.
Participate in other projects of the IHPR as directed, including: writing and editing technical ...
