Duncan To Join NIH Officials In Launching Latino Health Initiative

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CONTACT: Mary Anderson, 240-777-6534

DUNCAN TO JOIN NIH OFFICIALS
IN LAUNCHING LATINO
HEALTH INITIATIVE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 17, 2000

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan will join National Institutes of Health officials and Latino leaders in launching the Latino Health Initiative tomorrow at Abriendo Puertas, a Latino Community Health Celebration, to be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.

"Montgomery County is home to more than 93,000 Latinos," said County Executive Douglas M. Duncan. "The Latino Health Initiative will bring together local, state and federal organizations such as NIH to look at how we can reduce health disparities and work together to improve the health status of our Latino residents."

Speakers at the event will include Dr. Elmer Huerta, founder of Prevencion, a non-profit organization that disseminates Spanish-language health messages via radio and television. A question and answer session will be broadcast live on WACA Radio America (1540AM).

"We are excited about being involved in the Latino Health Initiative with Montgomery County," said Carlos Ugarte, coordinator of the Hispanic Communications Initiative at the National Institutes of Health. "We recognize that there are marked disparities in the health status of Latinos and we are anxious to work with Montgomery County to take on the challenges of developing culturally competent programs to address the needs. Montgomery County is taking a pioneering role in looking at the issues and we think that this will be a model for communities around the nation."

The Latino Health Initiative, with $100,000 in County funding, is part of the County's Department of Health and Human Services, and will begin by conducting a comprehensive assessment of the health needs of Latinos in the County. Programs and services will then be formulated to address the needs.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 33.3 percent of all Latinos have no health insurance, compared with 14.2 percent for whites and 21 percent for African-Americans. "The nation's Latino community faces notably higher rates of diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer, teen pregnancy, hypertension, tuberculosis and alcohol and substance abuse than do other ethnic groups," said Dr. Huerta.

"The Hispanic Community Health Celebration represents a timely and long-awaited opportunity for local organizations and individuals working on Hispanic health issues to gather and being the discussion on how best to address health disparities affecting Latinos," said Sonia Mora, manager of the Latino Health Initiative.

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