Efforts Seek To Raise Breast Cancer Awareness Among Black Women, Encourage Minority Students To Seek Health Care Careers, Reduce Racial Health Dispari

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Nursing / Midwifery;  Primary Care / General Practice;  Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 30 Jun 2008 - 7:00 PST

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The following summarizes articles related to addressing racial and ethnic health disparities.

• Clinton County, Ohio: Premier Community Health has created the "My Sister's Keeper" program, which offers no-cost breast cancer education parties, the Wilmington News Journal reports. The program is funded by the Avon Foundation and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure's Greater Cincinnati affiliate. At the conclusion of each event, women can either sign up for a mammogram or pledge to have one done. Those who are uninsured or have high copayments can have the screening done at no cost (Wilmington News Journal, 6/24).
  
  
• Erie County, Pa.: The Partnership for a Healthy Community on Thursday discussed plans to develop neighborhood health education centers that help patients navigate the health care system, the Erie Times-News reports. The group, made up of county government, hospital, not-for-profit and health officials, in part seeks to reduce the county's racial gap in health outcomes. In addition, the group this fall will begin a camp -- funded by a $150,000 grant -- that seeks to encourage minority students to pursue careers in health care (Bruce, Erie Times-News, 6/20).
  
  
• North Carolina: About 75 administrators and faculty members from historically black educational institutions this week gathered for a three-day conference at Winston-Salem University to discuss ways to reduce racial health disparities, the Winston-Salem Chronicle reports. The conference was hosted by the university's Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Health Disparities. Sylvia Flack, executive director of the center, said increasing the number of minority nurses would reduce racial health disparities (Farmer, Winston-Salem Chronicle, 6/26).
  
  
• Santa Fe, N.M.: The Santa Fe New Mexican on Monday profiled the Camino Entrada Pediatrics clinic, which provides culture-based care to low-income immigrants. The Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center opened the clinic in 2006. About 50% to 90% of the clinic's patients speak Spanish, and many of the services are provided to infants, according to the New Mexican. The physicians at the clinic encourage patients to use traditional healing methods along with modern medications, assist them with safely practicing their cultural health beliefs in the U.S., and administer diagnoses and treatments in patients' native languages. The two clinic physicians see more than 1,000 patients monthly, according to the New Mexican (Del Mauro, Santa Fe New Mexican, 6/23).
  

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