sábado, 23 de agosto de 2014

CDC - Newsletter - Health Equity Matters - Current - Minority Health

CDC - Newsletter - Health Equity Matters - Current - Minority Health



Health Equity Matters

A quarterly e-newsletter in which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) shares news, perspectives and progress in the science and practice of health equity.
Leandris C. Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA
Leandris C. Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA
Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Equity, CDC/ATSDR
Welcome to Health Equity Matters, an electronic newsletter intended to promote awareness of minority health and health equity issues that affect our work at CDC and in the broader public health community, support the achievement of our goal to eliminate health disparities, and foster ongoing communication and collaboration.

It is high school graduation time in Atlanta, and I recently attended the Baccalaureate Service for a young man I’ve watched grow up from his birth to his high school graduation. In the fall, he is headed to college! How quickly the years pass… Baccalaureate Services in the past were religious in nature and held the week before graduation. Some schools in Atlanta refer to this service as “pre-commencement,” but the purpose is still to inspire the students to the next level of greatness as they approach the grand achievement of completing high school. GraduatesI decided while listening to the teachers and students recall the good times, lessons learned, and dreams for the future that I should plan to attend at least one graduation –high school or college –every year. There are few community rituals that bring together hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of families and friends from near and far, and parallel the pageantry, solemnity, and joy of a graduation. I believe the inspiration, energy, excitement, and promise that characterize graduations are what we need daily to sustain our focus and momentum in pursuing health equity. I suggest we start to think about the many conferences, seminars, and grand rounds we attend to hear from our colleagues about the state of the science, progress we’ve achieved in improving health outcomes, and plans for new initiatives and shifting priorities as “commencement exercises.” Each time we come together, we revisit our history, celebrate our victories, learn from our defeats, and take up the charge –again, to achieve health equity. Most importantly, we should leave these gatherings energized and better equipped to get the job done.

In this issue of Health Equity Matters, we highlight some new work of CDC and its partners, and launch the 3rd year of the CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program and the 25th year of the James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Graduate Fellowship. We introduce the Health Disparities Subcommittee – a subcommittee of the Advisory Committee to the CDC Director (ACD) that provides expert advice and guidance to our office and Dr. Frieden through the ACD. We share some important programmatic accomplishments such as the release of the first periodic MMWR Supplement, “Strategies for Reducing Health Disparities – Selected CDC-Sponsored Interventions, United States, 2014” and the first agency-wide seminar on “Immigrant, migrant, and foreign-born health: Addressing health disparities.” We also recognize and congratulate our colleagues, Dr. Lynne Richardson and Dr. Hazel Dean for receiving two of the most prestigious awards conferred by their professional peers and academic institutions.

Read on for more news and updates, including learning more about our Health Equity Champion, Ms. Sherry Hirota.

Ms. Sherry Hirota is nationally known and respected as a leader and advocate for insuring access to high quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible health care for Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Her influence is felt from California to Washington, D.C., and her work is known in community health centers, national organizations representing Asian and Pacific Islander populations, and in philanthropic circles across the U.S.

Last week our nation bid farewell to Dr. Maya Angelou – beloved poet and author. She was also an advocate for health equity as evidenced by the establishment of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest University. While we will miss her presence, her voice will never be silenced. She was indeed phenomenal, and we will honor and cherish the genius of her writing and the passion of her activism forever. CDC's Office of Minority Health & Health Equity (OMHHE)
Leandris C. Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA
Associate Director for Minority Health and Health Equity, CDC/ATSDR
Office of Minority Health & Health Equity (OMHHE)
As always, we hope you will enjoy this issue, and your comments are always welcome!

Our readership continues to grow. We now have over 12,500 subscribers, so please continue to share Health Equity Matters with others in your professional networks.
We look forward to your comments, and encourage you to continue to circulate the newsletter among your colleagues and friends.

News You Can Use!

    News You Can Use!
  • The Students Are Here!
    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) welcomed 197 undergraduate students and six graduate students for the 2014 CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program (CUPS) and Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship Orientation Week held in Atlanta, May 28–30, 2014. This event marked the official launch of the eight to 10 week summer public health program that includes among other activities a series of group discussions, information exchanges, and innovative learning opportunities that introduce students to CDC’s priorities, current public health initiatives, and emerging public health issues at the federal level. 
    CUPS Orientation 2014 by Amanda MillsThe participating students were selected from over 2600 applicants to spend the summer working in state and local health departments, community-based organizations, and academic centers. CDC Director, Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, was the keynote speaker at the opening session. When asked how CDC can tackle health disparities, social determinants of health, inequities and pursue health equity, Dr. Frieden responded that there are there a number of very important things we can do. “There are specific actions that have specific effects, and there are general actions that will help everyone, and reduce health disparities,” he said. Using teen pregnancy as an example of a specific program, he said “reducing teen pregnancy will have a significant impact in reducing health disparities.” Dr. Frieden also spoke to the vital need for those who work in public health to evaluate our efforts. “What's important is not your intentions, it's your effect. You have to know that you're making a difference.”

    The CUPS program is intended to expose students interested in minority health to the field of public health research and practice. Ultimately, we hope these students will join the public health workforce and contribute to the provision of high quality public health services and research. We hope this hands-on experience will increase the interns’ awareness of the broad scope of public health careers. The program is administered by 5 institutions working in collaboration with the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity – Columbia University, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Morehouse College with Morehouse School of Medicine, and the University of Michigan.

    CUPS is aligned with the Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship, administered by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID). The nine-week Ferguson program provides full-time medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary or public health graduate students with a comprehensive public health research experience in the field of infectious diseases, complemented by clinical and public health leadership opportunities.

    For more information, visit OMHHE's Sponsored Student Opportunities in Public Health
  • Strategies for Reducing Health Disparities
    The Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) produced its first Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Supplement entitled “Strategies for Reducing Health Disparities — Selected CDC-Sponsored Interventions, United States” Released on April 18, 2014, the report includes interventions supported by CDC that are proven effective or show promise in reducing health disparities at the local and national levels. The four topic areas covered —HIV infection, immunization, motor vehicle injuries, and tobacco use —are also included among CDC’sWinnable Battles.
    Strategies Panel, Minority Health Month 2014“Reducing and eliminating health disparities is central to achieving the highest level of health for all people,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “We can close the gap when it comes to health disparities if we monitor the problem effectively and ensure that there is equal access to all proven interventions.”

    Authors of the papers included in the MMWR Supplement participated in a panel discussion hosted by OMHHE at CDC in recognition of National Minority Health Month in April. (From left to right: Pattie Tucker, Bethany West, Jeff Herbst, Shannon Stokley, Leandris Liburd.)
  • “Clearing the Air: Reducing Tobacco Use among Racial and Ethnic Minorities”
    Also celebrating National Minority Health Month, CDC participated in one of four webinars sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, on April 21, 2014. The webinar was conducted in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Minority Health, and the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission.

    Tobacco useis the number one cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the United States, and racial and ethnic minorities bear a significant burden. The webinar covered current education and prevention programs, as well as regulatory efforts that aim to curb tobacco use among minorities.

    The audience consisted of health care, health promotion and service providers, community organizations, and others interested in tobacco prevention. HHS’ Director of the Office of Minority Health and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, hosted the webinar series.
    HHS Webinar, Dr. Liburd & Dr. GarrettCDC was represented by Dr. Liburd and Bridgette E. Garrett, PhD, Associate Director for Health Equity, Office on Smoking and Health.

    The FDA was represented by Dr. Jonca Bull, Director of the FDA’s Office of Minority Health, and Andre Stanley, policy analyst at the FDA. Anita W. Gaillard, Director of Community Programs, Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission, described tobacco prevention activities at the community level through the 4th Annual Indiana Black Barbershop Health InitiativeExternal Web Site Icon.

    The event was held in 13 cities across the state of Indiana on April 5, 2014, where medical and non-medical volunteers focused on free blood glucose and blood pressure screenings and provided valuable information on the Indiana Tobacco Quit Line.
  • Migrant Health Meeting
    Migrant Seminar, Alfonso Rodriguez Speaking, by James GathanyOver 100 CDC staff and HHS agency representatives attended the Immigrant/Migrant/Foreign-born Health: Addressing Health Disparities seminar at CDC headquarters in Atlanta on May 16, 2014. The seminar was co-sponsored by OMHHE and the National Center for Emerging & Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) Office of Health Disparities.

    The seminar was intended to increase agency awareness about health disparities affecting immigrant, migrant, and foreign-born populations, and CDC’s activities addressing them. It provided an overview of these diverse populations and the factors that contribute to health disparities affecting them. 
    Migrant Seminar, Audience, by James GathanyPanels and plenaries focused on data opportunities and challenges and CDC/ATSDR initiatives to address and improve immigrant, migrant, and foreign-born health. The seminar also offered opportunities to share approaches for cross collaboration within CDC.

    Among the areas for action raised was improvement in data collection to assess health disparities affecting these populations, with an emphasis on the importance of variables such as place of birth, language, and length of time in the U.S. Cultural competence and tailoring methodologies for CDC programs serving these populations were also discussed. The Seminar Planning Committee will prepare a summary of the seminar for distribution to CDC participants.
  • Honor Award for Diversity & Inclusion Management Colleague
    Kathy Robinson, Diversity Program Specialist in OMHHE’s Diversity and Inclusion Management team, is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Human Capital Management: Workforce Diversity award presented during the 62nd CDC and ATSDR Honor Awards program. Dr. Frieden presenting award to Kathy Robinsone, by James Gathany

    The CDC and ATSDR Honor Awards celebrate the best of public service by recognizing talented and dedicated staff for their contributions to improving lives and helping to make the world a healthier place to live.

    Ms. Robinson was acknowledged for her exemplary leadership in coordinating the growth of the agency’s Centers, Institutes and Offices (CIO)-level Diversity and Inclusion Councils. Over the past year, Ms. Robinson’s efforts increased the number of Diversity Councils at CDC from three to 18. To accomplish this, she provided briefings to CIO leaders, newly formed Councils and other CIO stakeholders on the purpose and benefits of Diversity Councils, outlined and guided the process for establishing a Council, and provided consultation to CIO leaders and staff to ensure they were successful in this effort. Ms. Robinson serves as the agency’s “CIO Diversity Council Champion.” She has over 25 years of federal service working in Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Inclusion and Human Resource management. More aboutDiversity & Inclusion Management (DM).
  • CDC/ATSDR Health Equity Award
    The CDC/ATSDR Domestic Health Equity Award was awarded to the Adopting and Demonstrating the Adaptation of Prevention Techniques (ADAPT2) Project Team in the Prevention Research Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, NCHHSTP.

    CDC/ATSDR Health Equity Award to DHAP ADAPT2 Project TeamThe Team exhibited exemplary leadership in research to adapt HIV prevention interventions to reduce HIV health disparities in the US. In particular, the Team worked to increase the number of evidence-based behavioral interventions for populations at very high risk of HIV infection, including substance-using men who have sex with men, substance-using and detained African American adolescent girls, and women prisoners.

    Members of the team include: 
    Monique Carry, Amy M. Fasula, Deborah Gelaude, Jeffrey H. Herbst, and Jerris L. Raiford.

      The ADAPT2 project supported:
    1. formative research to inform the adaptation of existing evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for a new target population or setting,
    2. intervention adaptation, and
    3. testing the efficacy of newly adapted interventions in reducing HIV-related risk behaviors and incident sexually transmitted diseases in randomized controlled trials.
      Four research projects were funded from September 2007 to December 2013:
    1. Imara: adaptation of “Horizons” for African American female adolescents in juvenile detention in Atlanta, GA;
    2. Young Women’s CoOp: adaptation of “Women’s CoOp” for substance-using African American female adolescents in Raleigh/Durham, NC;
    3. Project POWER: adaptation of “Project SAFE” for incarcerated women in two North Carolina prisons; and
    4. Project ECHO: adaptation of “Personalized Cognitive Counseling” for episodic substance-using MSM in San Francisco, CA.
  • Dr. Hazel Dean
    Dr. Hazel Dean Awarded Spelman College 2014 Honorary Degree
    Dr. Hazel Dean, Deputy Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, received a Spelman College 2014 Honorary Degree – a doctorate of Public Health. She was honored during Spelman College’s annual Founders Day activities on April 9th, 2014 at the Spelman College Campus. Honorary degree candidates are recognized for having distinguished themselves within their professions and whose lives have had a significant impact on Spelman College.
  • CDC/ATSDR Tribal Support Unit Updates
    The CDC/ATSDR Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) Meeting and 11th Biannual Tribal Consultation Session will be held August 12–14, 2014, at the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme, Michigan. Pre-registration is required.Registration forms, agendas, and hotel information will be available soon on the Tribal Support Unit website at http://www.cdc.gov/tribal/meetings.html
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Special Feature


Health Disparities Subcommittee Brings Recommendations to CDC Director
The Health Disparities Subcommittee to the Advisory Committee to the Director is comprised of national leaders representing a broad range of health equity, public health, and health care expertise. These members represent state and local health departments, national organizations, philanthropic organizations, and academic institutions. Formed in 2005 through the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the Health Disparities Subcommittee (HDS) is a subcommittee of CDC’s Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD). The HDS provides “ high level counsel to the ACD, CDC on CDC’s efforts to address health disparities in achieving the agency’s overarching health impact goals.

The purpose of the HDS is to support CDC’s efforts to improve minority health by eliminating health disparities and pursuing health equity. The HDS submitted to the ACD in April its first set of recommendations for advancing health equity at CDC [see table]. The recommendations were unanimously approved by the ACD.

In the past, the Subcommittee has provided guidance to CDC in the development and dissemination of the first CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report released in 2011, and in reconvening and re-focusing CDC’s Health Equity Workgroup. The HDS meets twice yearly, with occasional ad hoc meetings to discuss important health equity issues and to determine how a variety of partners, including CDC, can play a role in accomplishing them. Now that the recommendations have been approved, the HDS will work with CDC’s designated federal official, OMHHE Director Leandris Liburd, to determine an implementation plan for the recommendations.
HDS Recommendations to the CDC Director
    The HDS recommends that CDC:
  1. Develop a CDC framework for action to achieve health equity;
    2. Arrow made of people to represent concepts: Align Monitor Develop Support
  2. Identify and monitor indicators of health equity through the CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report (CHDIR);
  3. Align universal interventions that promote better public health, with more targeted, culturally tailored interventions in communities at highest risk to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity.
  4. Support the rigorous evaluation of both universal and targeted interventions and, where indicated, the use of culturally appropriate evaluation strategies, to establish best practice approaches to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. All programs and initiatives should devote resources for rigorous evaluation to determine the health equity impact;
  5. Build community capacity to implement, evaluate, and sustain programs and policies that promote health equity, especially in communities at highest risk; and
  6. Support training and professional development of the public health workforce to address health equity.

    7. Click here for the HDS, Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD), CDC Members Roster.
HDS Chair Presented with Medallion Award
Dr. Lynne Richardson, also a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director, is the Chair of the HDS, and Professor of Emergency Medicine and Vice Chair for Academic, Research and Community Programs of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. A native New Yorker, she holds Bachelor's degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Life Sciences and Management; and the MD degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her Emergency Medicine Residency at Jacobi Hospital/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and completed a research fellowship with the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Health Services Research Institute. Dr. Richardson is a nationally recognized emergency medicine health services researcher. Dr. Lynne Richadson & Dr. CharneyHer areas of interest are access and barriers to care, and improving effective utilization of health care resources.

Recently, Dr. Richardson was awarded the Jacobi Medallion, created by the Mount Sinai Alumni in 1952 for distinguished achievement in the field of medicine or extraordinary service to the Hospital, the School, or the Alumni Association. Dr. Abraham Jacobi, after whom the medallion is named, was one of the early Presidents of the Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Board. He is credited with founding the specialty of pediatrics and together with his wife established the first pediatric clinic in the United States.

“I believe health care is a right and we have to make sure that every patient gets the access they need. For me, it is not about discovery just for the sake of knowledge; it is about discovering the best ways to implement scientific discoveries to actually improve the health of patients,” said Dr. Richardson. Dr. Dennis S. Charney, the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs for the Mount Sinai Health System, described Dr. Richardson as “the consummate clinician, educator and researcher. She conducts groundbreaking research on access to care and healthcare disparities that is improving our ability to provide medicine to those who need it most.”

We congratulate Dr. Richardson on receiving this distinguished recognition.
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Commentary


A Call to Action for Women’s Health
Yvonne Green, RN, CNM, MSN, PhD, Director, Office of Women’s Health, CDC
Yvonne Green, RN, CNM, MSN
Director, Office of Women’s Health, CDC
Yvonne Green, RN, CNM, MSN
Crisis Communication Senior Advisor,
Director, Office of Women’s Health, CDC

National Women’s Health Week (NWHW) begins on Mother’s Day each year. During this week, we raise awareness of some of the issues that impact women’s health and safety. But raising awareness doesn’t begin or end during this week. CDC works to better understand, improve, and promote the health, safety, and quality of life of women of all ages. CDC’s evidence-based research, surveillance data, recommendations and guidelines, campaigns, funding, and tools and resources, assist partners to strengthen and expand public health services and opportunities for women and girls in diverse communities.

Recent releases from CDC support efforts to accomplish this goal and enhance the ability of health professionals to accomplish their work. They also focus on several of the priority areas for the CDC Office of Women’s Health (reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, and cancer).
    These resources include:

  • Providing Quality Family Planning Services: Recommendations of CDC and the U.S. Office of Population AffairsThis report provides recommendations on how to provide family planning services. Such services include contraceptive services, pregnancy testing and counseling, helping clients achieve pregnancy, basic infertility services, preconception health services, and sexually transmitted disease services.
  • Know:BRCAKnow:BRCA assesses a young woman’s risk of having a BRCA gene mutation based on her family cancer history. She can then share her results with her medical provider. The Assessment is fully HIPAA compliant and can be integrated into Electronic Medical Records. With this essential information, young women and providers can work together to decide next steps, possibly including genetic counseling and testing, screening, and risk reduction.
  • Community-Based Program to Prevent HIV/STD Infection Among Heterosexual Black WomenThis report describes successful efforts by SisterLove, Inc., to develop, rigorously evaluate, and demonstrate the efficacy of Healthy Love, a 3-4–hour interactive, educational workshop, to reduce HIV- and sexually transmitted disease-related risk behaviors among heterosexual black women.
  • Updated STD Curriculum - Ready-To-Use Module - Herpes Simplex VirusDesigned for faculty in clinical education programs that train advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, and physicians. Each module contains a slide presentation, an instructor's guide, a case study, and test questions.
  • Preexposure Prophylaxis for the Prevention of HIV Infection in the United States — 2014: A Clinical Practice Guideline Adobe PDF fileThese guidelines provide comprehensive information for the use of daily oral antiretroviral preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV infection in adults. The document includes sections on published trials of antiretroviral preexposure prophylaxis among heterosexual men and women, women who become pregnant or breastfeed while taking PrEP medication, risk behavior assessment for heterosexually active men and women, and recommended indications for PrEP use by heterosexually active men and women.
For more information about women’s health, visit http://www.cdc.gov/women.
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Science Speaks


Selected publications from OMHHE authors:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ana Penman-Aguilar, PhD (OMHHE Associate Director for Science), 
Karen Bouye, PhD (OMHHE Senior Research Advisor), 
Leandris C. Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA (OMHHE Director).
Background and Rationale.
Strategies for Reducing Health Disparities — Selected CDC-Sponsored Interventions, United States, 2014. MMWR Supplement 1, 2014
MMWR, Supplements, April 18, 2014 / 63(01); 3-4.

Leandris C. Liburd PhD, MPH, MA, Vincent A. Campbell, PhD, Karen E. Bouye, PhD.
Epilogue. 
Strategies for Reducing Health Disparities — Selected CDC-Sponsored Interventions, United States, 2014.
MMWR, Supplements, April 18, 2014 / 63(01); 47-48.
Clinical Therapeutics
Leandris C. Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA, 
(Associate Director for Minority Health & Health Equity, CDC/ATSDR)

Leonard Jack Jr, PhD, MSc1, Leandris C. Liburd, PhD, MPH, MA, Pattie Tucker, DrPH, MPH, RN, Tarisha Cockrell, MPH.
Having Their Say: Patients’ Perspectives and the Clinical Management of Diabetes.External Web Site Icon
Clinical Therapeutics, Volume 36, Number 4, 2014. PMID: 24731864.

Ana Penman-Aguilar, PhD, MPH, (OMHHE Associate Director for Science)
Contraception
Snead MC, Kourtis AP, Melendez JH, Black CM, Mauck CK, Ana Penman-Aguilar, PhD, Chaney DM, Gallo MF, Jamieson DJ, Macaluso M, Doncel GF. 
Does tenofovir gel or do other microbicide products affect detection of biomarkers of semen exposure in vitro?External Web Site Icon AIDS Educ Prev
Contraception. 2014 Mar 25. PMID: 24746557.

Penman-Aguilar, A, Macaluso M, Peacock N, Snead MC, Posner SF.
A Novel Approach to Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in HIV and STI Prevention Research.External Web Site Icon
AIDS Educ Prev. 2014 Apr;26(2):95-108. PMID: 24694324.

Sonja Hutchins, MD, MPH, DrPH, (OMHHE Senior Medical Advisor) 

Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health DisparitiesBenem-Orom Davids, Sonja Hutchins, MD, Camara P. Jones, Jessie R. Hood.
Disparities in Life Expectancy Across US Counties Linked to County Social Factors, 2009 Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI).External Web Site Icon
J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, V1, I1, March, 2014, pp. 2-11.

Ramal Moonesinghe, PhD, (OMHHE Senior Mathematical Statistician)

Studnicki J, Ekezue BF, Tsulukidze M, Honoré P, Ramal Moonesinghe, PhD, Fisher J.
Classification tree analysis of race-specific subgroups at risk for a central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection. External Web Site Icon
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2014 Mar;40(3):134-43.
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Conversations in Equity

The Image of Equity
Our blog Conversations in Equity shares and exchanges perspectives and progress in the science and practice of health equity.

See the latest post and add your comments today!

Health Equity Champion


Sherry Hirota, AHS, CEOExternal Web Site Icon
Sherry Hirota
Asian Health Services (AHS), CEO
With each passing year, I am more and more convinced that a life given in service to others is the most rewarding life. Even on those days when I’d rather be at the beach than confront the challenges associated with achieving health equity, the inner tugging of the necessity and virtue of our work is enough to keep me coming back until we achieve our goals. Great men and women who have given their lives to the uplift of others have understood this for generations. Such is the ongoing legacy of our Health Equity Champion Sherry Hirota. Ms. Hirota is well known nationally for her service to the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Access To CareShe has been tireless in her advocacy to ensure access to affordable, high quality, and culturally and linguistically appropriate health care to members of the Asian/Pacific Islander community at every stage of their lives. Her leadership is motivated by the unmet health care needs she sees – and fills, in her local community, as well as across the U.S. We celebrate the vision and life of service demonstrated by Sherry Hirota, and we are honored to include her among OMHHE’s Health Equity Champions!

--Leandris C. Liburd
Sherry Hirota, Chief Executive Officer CEO of Asian Health Services (AHS)External Web Site Icon, has been a health advocate and leader on behalf of the Asian American community for the past 38 years. Under Sherry’s leadership, AHS has grown to become a leading community health center and a nationally recognized model for cultural competence and language access. AHS, located in Oakland, California, serves 24,000 patients annually and employs 350 staff, offering comprehensive primary health care, including medical, dental and behavioral health care.

As a health advocate, Sherry has championed improvements in language access for limited English-speaking patients, affordability of care, and eligibility of immigrant patients for health and other safety net programs. She crafted the cultural and linguistic standards for MediCal managed care, led a five-year Kellogg Community Voices Initiative targeting health coverage and access for immigrants, and was a member of the HHS Health Secretary Designated Rulemaking Committee on Medically Underserved Areas and Populations.

Sherry’s leadership extends to the state and national health care landscape. She is a founding board member of two national advocacy organizations, the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)External Web Site Icon and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)External Web Site Icon. the Edible School YardSherry’s work has been recognized by numerous awards including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leadership, the California Wellness Foundation’s Champions of Health Professions Diversity Award, the San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Award, and the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame. Sherry is an Emeritus Board member of the California Endowment, Vice Chair of the East Bay Community Foundation, and serves on the Board of the Edible School Yard.

“I am so honored to be named Health Equity Champion and to be in the company of fellow Champions, Dr. Koh, Dr. Shriver, and Mr. Auerbach,” says Sherry. “I have devoted my life’s work to bridging health disparities and promoting health equity. To be named Health Equity Champion at a time when President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act is rolling out and gaining momentum makes it all the sweeter.”
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Announcements


For more announcements, see the Minority Health Announcements Page
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Statistics Highlight


QuickStats: Birth Rates for Females Aged 15–19 Years, by Race/Ethnicity 
- National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2007 & 2012
The figure shows birth rates for females aged 15-19 years, by race/ethnicity in the United States during 2007 and 2012. From 2007 to 2012, the birth rate for females aged 15-19 years in the United States overall declined by 29%, from 41.5 to 29.4 births per 1,000 females in that age group. Among racial/ethnic populations, declines ranged from 25% for non-Hispanic white females to 39% for Hispanics. Rates decreased 29% for non-Hispanic black females and for American Indian/Alaska Natives and 34% for Asians/Pacific Islanders.
MMWR Weekly March 21, 2014 / 63(11);251

The figure below shows that from 2007 to 2012, the birth rate for Hispanic females aged 15-19 years in the United States declined 39%. Rates decreased 34% for Asians/Pacific Islanders, 29% for non-Hispanic black females and for American Indian/Alaska Natives, and 25% for non-Hispanic white females.
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Quick Links

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