Newspapers Publish Articles on Initiatives To Address Health Disparities Among Minorities
Several newspapers recently published articles related to initiatives that seek to address health care disparities among minority communities. Summaries appear below.
- Broward County, Fla.: The Broward Community Planning Partnership, which includes the Broward County Health Department and several community groups, has proposed an HIV/AIDS prevention plan that seeks to reduce infection rates among black women and several other groups, the Miami Herald reports. According to public health experts, the plan will serve as a model for community groups that provide HIV/AIDS prevention services and will help such groups make decisions on spending the more than $3 million in mostly state funds allocated for prevention of the disease (Simon, Miami Herald, 12/6).
- Grand Rapids, Mich.: The new Asian Health Outreach Foundation, with the support of a medical center in Grand Rapids, in October began to offer health care services to the estimated 20,000 Asians in West Michigan, the Grand Rapids Press reports. The foundation seeks to eliminate language, cultural and financial barriers for uninsured Asian families and establish health education and screening programs (Longcore, Grand Rapids Press, 12/5).
- Greenville, N.C.: The Cornerstone Ministry, an outreach program of Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, received a three-year, $360,000 grant from the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund to launch a Healthy Lives/Healthy Choices Project in the black community, the Daily Reflector reports. The project seeks to encourage healthier lifestyles in the black community through proper nutrition, diet and exercise (Daily Reflector, 12/3).
- Jacksonville, Fla.: Avery Garner, the assistant coordinator for an AIDS program office at the Florida Department of Health, has asked the Jacksonville black community -- which accounts for 70% of all new HIV infections in the city -- to take a more active role in HIV/AIDS prevention and education, the Florida Times-Union reports. "More people are going to have to step up ... more are going to have to come to the table," he said, adding, "We're reaching our limits with our efforts" (Weathersbee, Florida Times-Union, 12/6).
- Montgomery County, Md.: Washington Adventist Hospital in Montgomery County and Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care in Washington, D.C., have announced plans to open a primary care clinic to serve an increased number of low-income and uninsured Hispanic residents in the area, the Washington Postreports. The clinic during its first year is expected to help more than 1,000 Hispanic residents find medical specialists and community programs that help with housing and youth issues (Levine, Washington Post, 12/7).
- Shelby County, Tenn.: Virginia Betts, the Tennessee commissioner of mental health and developmental disabilities, on Tuesday said that the state will launch a pilot program to help minorities in Shelby County access mental health services, the Tennessean reports. The $1.5 million program will first target black communities in Shelby County through churches and schools, and next year might expand to rural communities with large minority populations, Betts said (Fender, Tennessean, 12/5).
- St. Louis, Mo.: More health care professionals in the St. Louis area have begun to take language courses to improve communication with patients who do not speak English as the number of immigrants in the area increases, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. According to the Census Bureau, the Hispanic population in the St. Louis area increased by about 26% between 2000 and 2005, and the Asian population increased by about 28% over the same period (Girresch, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 12/7).
- University Park, Ill.: The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH has awarded a grant to Governor's State University valued at as much as $5 million to study the cause of disparities among minorities in the health care system, the Chicago Tribune reports. The grant, which the university will receive in $1 million annual increments over five years, will fund at least six studies, with a focus on the south Chicago suburbs (Napolitano, Chicago Tribune, 12/8).