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
September 14, 2023 - The number of Latine infants with RSV is considerably higher than the number of white infants with respiratory illness. RSV is a common respiratory virus that affects infants and older adults more severely. While most people only experience symptoms similar to a common cold and recover within 1-2 weeks, RSV can lead to pneumonia or bronchitis in children under 1 year old.
Common symptoms of RSV include a runny nose, decreased appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever, and wheezing. However, in young infants, you may only see irritability or breathing difficulties. Each year in the United States, an estimated 58,000-80,000 children younger than 5 years old are hospitalized due to RSV infection, and about 6,000-10,000 older adults die of RSV.