Return to Main Menu

Alliance created to serve Hispanic population by Heather Woolwine Public Relations Often times it only takes one idea or event to catapult an initiative forward into reality. For Cristina Reyes, a College of Health Professions student, it was the contrast between two situations that gave her the idea for the newly formed Alliance for Hispanic Health. “I attended an event with some very affluent and generous Hispanic individuals. Then a couple of days later, I noticed some Hispanic men on the side of the road waiting for a pickup truck that would hopefully take them to work for the day,” Reyes said. “These were probably men with families to take care of, and the contrast between the two situations got me thinking about the disparities between different cross-sections of society in our country. I felt that it was time for me to personally try to do something to help bridge the gaps in health care that affect Hispanics in our area.” Reyes' reflection on different life and health styles of many Hispanics in Charleston led to the Alliance—whose purpose rests in facilitating communication between MUSC and community-wide health care organizations that serve Hispanic populations, facilitating information and idea exchange amongst the MUSC population of faculty, staff and students to better meet the needs of the Hispanic community, to improve the quality of health care programs provided to the Hispanic community and academic programs provided to health care professionals and students who serve the community, and to sponsor and participate in events and service projects to promote health and well being of the Hispanic community of Charleston including health care services, cultural awareness, student needs and recruitment and research. The Alliance met for the first time last November and elected officers in January, which included Reyes as president. “There is a huge deficit within health care that demonstrates a need for something like this, and there are many areas of MUSC serving the Hispanic community that don’t know about each other,” Reyes said. “People are very enthusiastic about this project. Many of the responses to the Hispanic community’s health needs have been retroactive, but we are hoping to be proactive.” Some of the actions the Alliance plans to pursue include facilitating a volunteer translator system that would support MUSC’s two full-time Spanish translators (especially at special events like the dental clinics for children), representation at local health fairs, and working on a group certification program for Spanish similar to a CPR certification course. Most helpful to people who would like to translate within MUSC, this certification requires a written test and interview. “MUSC International Programs currently offers conversational Spanish and medical Spanish classes in the evenings,” Reyes said. “But we have recently begun lunch sessions conducted by BiLingo, LLC called Conversaciones that are designed to be more conducive to student schedules and needs and provide Spanish practice opportunities with no fee, no pressure and no commitment.” Any one with experience in the Hispanic community, a passion for Latin people, or a desire to learn more about helping the Hispanic community is invited to attend the next meeting for the Alliance, which will be at noon on Feb. 28 in Room 435 of the Basic Science Building. First on the Alliance’s to-do list is a Habitat for Humanity home for a Spanish-speaking family. The group also showed the movie, “Patch Adams,” with Spanish subtitles at MUSC to local Hispanics and plans to continue showing medically oriented films to the community to better acquaint them with language and health care issues. With representation from the Office of Diversity, SGA, International Programs and all six colleges on campus, Reyes said future plans also include tapping local businesses for partnerships and sponsorships and assisting local philanthropies like Our Lady of Mercy mission on John’s Island. A Web site is in the works that would provide resources for health care professionals, students, and the Spanish-speaking community regarding health care, volunteer opportunities, and available services within the local community. “We also want to assist with academic issues like the recruitment of Hispanic students and promoting opportunities for studying abroad in Spanish-speaking countries. Given everything that we want to do, in terms of outreach and help for staff and students here, it will be an overwhelming undertaking,” Reyes said. “But our primary goals are to facilitate better communication between MUSC and the community and to encourage students and health care professionals to learn more so that we can work together to meet the quickly growing needs of our local Hispanic community.” For more information, contact Susan Brooks at brookssh@musc.edu. Inaugural Alliance for Hispanic Health of MUSC Officers: President, Cristina Reyes; Vice President/Web site Committee Chair, Laura Davis; Secretary/Health Fair Committee Chair, Danielle Moore; Treasurer/Fundraising Committee Chair, Caroline Davila; Volunteer Coordinator, Kristie Appelgren; SGA Representative, Laura Cole; and Advisor, Susan Brooks.   Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.