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Health

Across the United States, Latinos face an unprecedented number of challenges to their health. Cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke, and chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma disproportionately hit Hispanic communities. Many of these ills are preventable and can be managed through access to affordable healthcare. But socio-economic obstacles make it difficult for Latinos to access quality care.

Hispanic Federation has taken a national leadership role in raising awareness of Latino health disparities and promoting strategies to improve Latino health as well as increasing Latinos’ access to affordable and quality healthcare.

Our portfolio is anchored by three central goals:

Increasing Access to Healthcare

Healthcare Enrollment

Historically, the single greatest obstacle to better health for millions of Latinos in the United States has been access to quality, affordable medical care. Beginning in 1998, HF began assisting families enroll into Medicaid and Child Health Plus and has since made healthcare more accessible for tens of thousands of Latino families.

 

HF’s role expanded under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare). Currently, Hispanic Federation and four member agencies help New York families and small businesses enroll in health coverage through NY State of Health: The Official Health Plan Marketplace. Navigators/ Assistors provide eligible individuals with assistance in completing the enrollment application. They also help small employers offer insurance to their employees.

 

Do you need health coverage? Hispanic Federation Assistors/Navigators Team is working to serve you. We assist individuals and Small Business with their Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Essential Plan, and Qualified Health Plans. CALL US NOW! 1-833-656-2626

 

For more information, contact Liliana Melgar, Assistant Vice President for Health Operations.

LUCES HIV/AIDS Coalition

The AIDS epidemic in the United States disproportionately affects Latinos, with Latinos accounting for a quarter of all newly-diagnosed cases of the disease. More troubling is the fact that less than half of all Latinos living with HIV have access to medicines that can keep them alive.

For two decades now, the Hispanic Federation has been working to arrest the impact of this disease on the Latino community. In 1996, we created Latinos Unidos Contra El SIDA (LUCES), an HIV/AIDS education and advocacy coalition that has been at the forefront of securing needed resources and policies to combat the disease. LUCES has also given birth to groundbreaking prevention initiatives such as National Latino AIDS Awareness Day and Latino HIV Testing Month. Today, LUCES continues its work to develop public policy, serve as an advocate for a Latino HIV/AIDS agenda, and provide culturally-competent HIV/AIDS education and care to Latinos.

World Trade Center Health Program

HF is conducting outreach and education support to underserved English and Spanish Speaking survivors affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks in NYC. Survivors include persons that worked, lived, or attended school, child care, or adult day care in the NYC disaster area, who were adversely affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in NYC.

As many as 400,000 people are estimated to be affected, including those who lived, worked, or were present within a mile and a half of Ground Zero in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the vast majority of whom still don’t know they’re at risk. In fact, the World Trade Center Health Registry, which tracks the health of more than 71,000 rescue workers and survivors, indicates that “Many people don’t connect the symptoms they have today to September 11.” 

If you, or someone you know, feels that they may qualify for the WTC Health Program to receive benefits, call us today!  HF staff is available to provide more information and help you access the enrollment application.

If you wish to apply to the WTC Health Program, you can use the online system at https://oasis.cdc.gov or download the form at https://www.cdc.gov/wtc/apply

If you want help filling out this application or have questions about qualification and required documents, you may call 1-866 HF-AYUDA (866)432-9832 or email 911survivor@hispanicfederation.org.

You may also find information at WTC Health Program or call the WTC Health Program toll-free at 1-888-982-4748.

Supporting Healthy Lifestyles

Get Up! Get Moving! Health Fair

Get Up! Get Moving! (GUGM) provides free screenings, physical fitness regimens, and health information and referrals, serving over 15,000 individuals since its inception. Hosted by HF in New York and Florida, GUGM boasts activities that promote a healthy lifestyle for all ages, offering alternatives to mainstream exercise.

Sign up here: English; Spanish

As part of the health fair, participants are encouraged to explore diverse physical activities such as Zumba®, dancing, martial arts, and sports as options for losing or maintaining weight. Participants also are able to take advantage of an array of health screenings which include: BMI, glucose, blood pressure, skin sun damage, hepatitis C, eye exams, and HIV, among others.

Zumbando en el Barrio

Zumba®, the wildly popular type of dance exercise which fuses fitness, entertainment and culture into a fun and effective aerobic workout, is at the core of the Hispanic Federation’s Zumbando en el Barrio Initiative. This culturally-competent healthy lifestyle event provides a way for people of all ages to exercise and receive information on critical health issues affecting their communities.

Zumbando en el Barrio includes Zumbathons, one-day exercise sessions and chats which are featured from a main stage and/or booth exhibit ensuring an interactive experience for participants. In addition, Hispanic Federation provides multi-day programs that include workout sessions and healthy living information where participants have the opportunity to be weighed and receive BMI information.

SER Saludable

SER (Salud Es Responsabilidad) Saludable / Be Healthy is an intergenerational initiative which uses physical education clinics, nutrition education and collaborations with other nonprofits to help Latino children, youth and adults live active, healthy lifestyles.

SER Saludable Fitness Challenge is an extended Ser Saludable series which offers Zumba classes to community participants over 8 consecutive weeks. The goal of the challenge is to jumpstart fitness activities so participants will continue with healthy exercise habits after the series. Hispanic Federation monitors weight gain/loss and a health expert/nutritionist is available at each session to counsel participants.

Latino Health Awareness Initiative

Latinos continue to be disproportionally affected by a variety of health issues, such as diabetes, lupus, and hepatitis C. According to the CDC, for example, Hispanics are about 50% more likely to die from diabetes or liver disease than whites.

The Latino Health Awareness Initiative focuses on diabetes education to impact diabetes related health outcomes in the Latino community. Through this initiative, the Hispanic Federation provides innovative educational workshop and activities, public education campaigns, for example the Know Your Diabetes by Heart campaign, and education using the promotora model.

In 2011 Hispanic Federation partnered with Mt. Sinai to launch Latino Diabetes Awareness Day. Today, through the Visa SI! Diabetes NO! coalition Hispanic Federation works with its partners to take a comprehensive and systematic look at diabetes in the Latino community through, research, education, physician engagement, advocacy, and detection.

Other health awareness activities include youth health engagement, Lupus research and education, lung health, and clinical trials awareness and education.

Anti-Asthma/COPD Initiative

Nearly 3 million Hispanics nationwide are afflicted by asthma, and in fact Latinos are sixty percent more likely to visit the hospital emergency room because of this illness. In September 2015, Hispanic Federation launched the Hispanic Lung Health Education Campaign, a public education and advocacy campaign intended to raise awareness about asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and smoking cessation.

Key to the campaign is the Hispanic Asthma Call to Action. Hispanic Federation partners with 12 member agencies across New York City and in Northern New Jersey (Essex and Hudson counties) as asthma resource centers for Hispanics. These resource centers host workshops on asthma and lung health as well as provide referrals and/or appointments for clinical care for patients who need it.

Diabetes Type 2 Prevention

Prediabetes

What Is Type 2 Diabetes? Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have type 2 diabetes, your body can’t use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar to build up in your blood. Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition. It can lead to health issues such as heart attack; stroke; blindness; kidney failure; or loss of toes, feet, or legs. What Is Prediabetes? Prediabetes is a blood glucose (sugar) level that is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. One in three American adults has prediabetes, and most do not even know they have it. If you have prediabetes and do not lose weight or do moderate physical activity, you can develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years. Here is a link to assess your risk for free: https://doihaveprediabetes.org/

What can I do if I am at RISK?

Hispanic Federation Florida has a free program to help those diagnosed with Prediabetes, or if you are at risk for being prediabetic to fight back! With our “Prevenga la Diabetes tipo 2” lifestyle change program from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), we can empower you to take back the control of your life and enjoy yourself again. 

For more information contact Robert Edwards at 407-270-0597 X 107 or redwards@hispanicfederation.org

Advocating for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Reproductive health and rights is critical to the Latino community. Unfortunately, a lack of access to quality reproductive healthcare and lack of knowledge concerning sexual and reproductive rights means that Latinos are more likely to experience reproductive cancers, unplanned pregnancies, sexual violence and sexually transmitted disease than other Americans. Hispanic Federation works to make sure that all Latinos have access to quality sexual and reproductive health services.

But our work extends beyond increasing access to healthcare. Our Reproductive Justice initiative is designed to challenge and change many of the structural issues that make it difficult for Latinos to take control over their reproductive health through raising awareness and advocating at the local, state and national level for policies which promote sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Hispanic Federation is also a partner in the I Am/Yo Soy campaign, which works to end silence about sex education, birth control, abortion, and young parenting. The campaign shows how understanding sexuality and reproductive health can make Latinos and their families more empowered, healthier and stronger. The campaign builds on a number of key principles:

  • Decisions about birth control, abortion and parenting are ours to make
  • Families need more access to health care and education, not less
  • The need to speak out against attempts to restrict sexuality education or reproductive health options in our community
  • The need to build tools and education to help us communicate with our young people openly about how to grow up safe and healthy

For more information, contact Liliana Melgar, Director of Health Operations, or Bethsy Morales, Director of Community Health Engagement.