June 2024 NHHF Advocacy Activities

June 26, 2024 

This month, I increased my advocacy activities as President of the National Hispanic Health Foundation and was honored to speak at two Congressional Briefings—with the National Minority Quality Forum and the American GI Association—and also participated in small group meetings with Congress staff on the need to address obesity policy to decrease chronic diseases. 

I also followed up on our NHHF/NHMA Capitol Hill visits from April 12 to start follow-up meetings on priorities for Hispanic health with Congress offices across the nation.

May 2024 Advocacy Activities

May 9, 2024

NHHF and NHMA were highlighted as I spoke at several organizations' events in Washington, DC, this month: 

National Consumers League Vaccine Confidence Webinar Roundtable - Discussed lessons learned with our NHMA Vaccinate For All and NHHF Rockefeller Mini-Grant Program on how to educate Latino families about the importance of vaccines, especially about COVID-19, RSV, and Influenza.

NHMA and NHHF 30th Anniversary Leadership Summit 

April 25, 2024

NHHF and NHMA hosted 275 participants in Washington, DC, on April 12 - 13, 2024, to participate in Congressional Visits to advocate for Access to Care by protecting the Affordable Care Act prevention programs, expanding Medicaid, and focusing on obesity and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, HIV, tobacco control; and for increasing Latinos in medicine by policies that create new institutions (regional medical schools) and advance diversity programs in STEM, research experience, mentoring and financing medical education (new GME slots, loan repayment). We also cohosted the White House Briefing on the Biden Administration accomplishments that impact the health of Latinos and considering a political appointment. We thank the staff and Office of Public Engagement, the White House.

Day 2 was a summit that started with the story of the history leading up to the establishment of NHMA. Dr. David Hayes Bautista provided the context of the 1960s in the U.S. when Latino college students developed clubs for prehealth students. In California, for example, the CCM and CHE groups were created across the state. As the leaders became professionals, they went to different states. Elena Rios's history was announced as an activist and organizer -- started recruiting poor students at Stanford, started the California statewide Chicano/Latino Medical Student Association in 1983, and the NHMA in 1994.  Founders described their roles and challenges to the future: Collaboration, Leaning Latino Culture into Leadership, Enrichment of our NHHF Scholarship to help the next generation, and Partnership Development.  Participants were assigned to four working sessions that resulted in strategies for NHMA and NHHF in the next five years:  Increase Latinos in Medicine; Create health communications to other physicians about Latino health; Expand advocacy activities to Federal and State policymakers; and Develop partners to support executive leadership and clinical research training.

NHHF and NHMA proudly supports the Obesity Bill of Rights Initiative

March 15, 2024

As a Latina doctor with years of advocating for Hispanic health, I know the adverse effects of obesity on our own community.

Latinos face a greater prevalence of obesity and associated comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, when compared to the general population.

Women's Health is Key to Quality Health Care

March 1, 2024

As we start Women's History Month this year, the United States faces major challenges from policymakers and lawyers/judges in the court system who are motivated to keep women without reproductive health or choice.  This is demolishing the quality of the healthcare movement for a patient-centered, team approach between patient and physician, culturally sensitive/language appropriate and respectful, and accessible/affordable/transparent.  By leaving women out of healthcare, we are seeing the closing of hospitals (especially rural hospitals), a decrease in OB-GYN specialists practicing or applications to the field, and physicians not willing to lose their licenses over policies that go against a physician's oath to "do no harm".  We expect to see the loss of female contraception products available in this nation.  Young women must be educated to vote for women's health advocates to become activists for their generation and rid the system of the anti-women people in the power structure of the United States. In my generation I applaud the activists who believed in women enjoying quality healthcare.

Vaccination disparities are evident across demographics.

February 6, 2024

As the U.S. undergoes an unusually acute seasonal surge in respiratory illnesses, it’s important to remember that there are ways of staying healthy and avoiding life-threatening complications, which become more common among older individuals and those with already poor health. So, let’s look at the vaccination disparities and what they reveal about us.

Who’s Not Getting Vaccinated?

NHHF/NHMA 30th Anniversary Leadership Summit

January 03, 2024

In 1994, with doctors I met while working at the White House in 1993, especially Mark Diaz (CA), Conchita Paz (NM), Ciro Sumaya (TX), and our lawyer and consultants, we developed 2 organizations: the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) and the NHMA Foundation with Bylaws and Boards of Directors. We decided to start a volunteer effort (I worked at the HHS Office on Women's Health) and received support from HRSA Administrator Dr. Ciro Sumaya and OMH Director and Latino Advisor (Guadalupe Pacheco) to start an advisory meeting with HRSA on health workforce diversity, a national advisory committee, 5 regional meetings and 2 national conferences from 1995 - 1998. Then we received our first $1M in Government Funding to start Leadership training of physicians, residents, and medical students. Thanks to Jo Ivey Boufford and Susana Morales of NY to serving as core faculty...I left HHS to work part-time with NHMA/NHHF. 

We changed the Foundation name to the National Hispanic Health Foundation (NHHF) when we decided to start a National Hispanic Health Professional Student Scholarship and the HispanicHealth.info with an earmark from Congresswoman Hilda Solis with our networks sharing of Latino health information/calendar--- we formalized the Council of Medical Societies in 2005  and the National Hispanic Health Professional Leadership Network in 2004.

NHHF/NHMA Major Advocacy Efforts Review of 2023

January 2, 2024

We have had a busy year with Congressional, HHS, and White House meetings and advocacy to add the Hispanic lens to health care policy. Here are just a few priorities we have discussed and supported this past year and will continue to focus on in 2024:

1. Medical Education diversity policy to increase services in shortage areas - did not see the new funding for minority physicians, nor Costa/Kaine bill to build new medical schools - especially the HSI school we need ( and Resolution for Natl Latino Physician Day) - Congressional Briefing - July
2. Alternative Obesity medicines (AOM) coverage by Medicare for non-Federal insured — already covered by VA, Federal Employee Insurance
3. Nutrition - quality guidelines, support for WIC, SNAP, more education for Latino signup; White House Nutrition Conference: Food is Medicine
4. Clinical Trial diversity - new support for mentors and research programs outreach for Latino physicians/ others to build community research (NHHF)
5. Nominations for HHS positions/ commissions and political appointments for Secretary appointments ( NHHF HHS MOU)
6. ARPA-H - increased Latino researcher support (NHHF becomes a member)
7. Asthma, CVD, Diabetes, Maternal Health, Vaccines, Long Covid, Behavioral Health, Immigrant Health —And support Medicaid and Medicare expansion!  and more...

Partner with us to continue healthcare policy development in 2024! [email protected]

The National Latino/a Physician Day

October 1, 2023

The number of Latino/a physicians, according to the AAMC, is about 7 percent despite the Latino/a population being 64 million or 19 percent of the U.S. population in 2022, according to the U.S. Census. NHMA is proud to have advocated for the bipartisan Senate and Congress Resolutions that were introduced recognizing Oct. 1st as National Latino/a Physician Day. We are especially proud that two of the Congressmembers are Latino physicians - Congressman Raul Ruiz of CA and Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo.  We will continue to advocate for the approval of these resolutions by both houses.

NHHF and NHMA president Elena Rios, MD, was a speaker at the Stanford Medical School celebration along with the founders of the event, Cesar Padilla, MD and Michael Galvez, MD, Assemblyman Arambula, LMSA executive director JP Sanchez, MD, and Stanford Medical School Dean Minor, and others.  We celebrated with Latino/a physicians and medical students who participated through social media and local events nationwide.

The First HHS Hispanic Health Summit

September 26, 2023

NHHF/NHMA  president was presented with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for both NHMA (to develop a Hispanic pipeline for medical school) and NHHF the National Hispanic Health Foundation (to support Hispanic leadership development for the public health workforce, especially to increase Hispanics at HHS and county and state agencies and Hispanic principal investigators/patients in clinical research) through increased collaboration and information exchange with the HHS agencies and offices.  The Hispanic Health Summit brought together leaders from health care and community organizations interested in learning about HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra's priorities, including maternal health, access to care, especially Medicaid enrollment, and behavioral health programs to fight substance abuse, among other issues.  We appreciated the NHMA/NHHF Board members and staff who joined me at this great event - Claudia Zamora, Yvonne Rodriguez, Dr. Sylvia Preciado, and NHHF Program Director Guadalupe Pacheco and our interns, who learned a lot from this historic event. (see HHS videos). We encourage all our staff to participate in the federal celebration of Hispanic and health equity.

The Rate of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Cases Among Latine Infants

NHMA Congressional Briefing on How to Increase Latinos in Medical School

August 14, 2023

As we reflect on the Supreme Court decision to stop higher education race-based admissions, here are key policies and programs that were discussed at our 2023 Congressional Briefing in July:

Congressman Raul Ruiz discussed the need to continue working with Congressmembers as we have been on the need for policies to expand opportunities for students to be more prepared to move from high school to college, from college to graduate school. He thanked us for our advocacy for his legislation to change Hispanic funding from education to build mentoring and counseling for medical school admissions. 

US Supreme Court Decision to Stop Race-based Admissions to Higher Education

June 29, 2023

The National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) condemns the U.S. Supreme Court decision, based on the cases against Harvard College and the University of North Carolina, striking down race-based admissions to all colleges and universities nationwide.

This ruling against affirmative action reverses decades of precedent, going back to Brown v. Board of Education in the 1950s.

NHHF and NHMA Applauds Reintroduction of the Treat & Reduce Obesity Act

July 20, 2023

The National Hispanic Medical Association applauds U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Representatives Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) and Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) for reintroducing the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act. This bill is a critical first step to address our country’s escalating obesity epidemic and its disproportionate impact on Hispanic communities.

Our current healthcare policies deny millions from accessing the care they need to treat this chronic, deadly disease — perpetuating health inequities and preserving roots of systemic racism that have put access to healthcare out of reach for millions.

Gun Safety Legislation Needed in Congress

May 25, 2022

Yesterday's horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, represents our government's continued failure to act against gun violence. The National Hispanic Medical Association grieves the loss of 22 innocent lives in Uvalde, Texas - a community that is 83.5% Hispanic. As a key representative of Hispanic interests and well-being, NHMA is devastated by this senseless and preventable loss of life. The incessant waves of gun violence in our country will not cease until policymakers pass gun safety legislation to protect our society. NHMA calls upon policy-makers in Texas and the U.S. Congress to set aside personal interests and carry out the long-overdue work needed to protect their constituents.

Women's Reproductive Health Advocacy Needed NOW!

May 3, 2022

The NHHF and NHMA Board of Directors has called for advocacy for women's choice for healthcare, including abortion, given the threat of the Supreme Court's leak of an impending decision to overturn the Roe Law in October. We have sent statements to Congress to advocate for policies to allow reproductive health, including abortion, for all women who want it in the U.S.  We have also supported the Women’s Health Protection Act (S.4132) that is being debated this week in the Senate.

The majority of Latinos, like the majority of the population, believe that the decision to have an abortion should be left to a person in consultation with their family, their health care provider, and their faith. Latinos in this country are very supportive of access to reproductive health care, including safe, legal abortion. According to a poll commissioned by the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, 67 percent of Latino voters do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and 82 percent agree with people making their own decisions on the issue without political interference.

Rockefeller Partnership to Increase Vaccine Uptake in Houston, Texas

February 11, 2022

It is now widely understood that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Latinos in the U.S., resulting in a higher risk of infection, hospitalization, and death than their white counterparts. Unfortunately, this extends to Hispanic children as well. In fact, a new study by the CDC found that Hispanic children were eight times more likely than white children to be hospitalized because of COVID-19. Expanding vaccination rates among Latino children and families is crucial if we want to ensure that this already vulnerable population can vigorously overcome the virus.

The Surgeon General's Call for Mental Health of Youth Focus

February 10, 2022

In a recent Surgeon General Report and at a Senate Committee Hearing this week, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, calls on policymakers and advocates to consider how COVID-19 has exasperated children's emotions, especially in underserved communities. We agree with his major recommendations to 1. increase awareness of the mental health needs of children; 2. support mental health programs in primary care practices and schools; 3. increase the mental health workforce, including clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, and recovery counselors; 4. educate our Latino and other communities about the impact of counseling and how to access mental health services.  We call on our partners to join us in our Annual Conference in March, the COVID-19 briefing in April, and a Policy Summit later this year to develop mental health policy recommendations, especially for our communities. 

Addressing Obesity in Adults

December 15, 2021

As the end of the year approaches and we make our resolutions for the new year, it’s important to focus on making healthier lifestyle choices. We know that taking care of your body through exercise and healthy eating can seriously stop preventable diseases like obesity.

The burden of obesity weighs on all of us Hispanics - Univision

By:  SINDY BENAVIDES, DR. ELENA RIOS, DR. YANIRA CRUZ
Published: December 13, 2021 
In a country of over 60 million Hispanics, the CDC reports approximately 44.8% of Hispanic adults in the U.S. live with obesity, the second-highest when compared to other ethnic or racial minority groups.

Read Full Article

The Epidemic of Childhood Obesity