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| Vol. 22, No. 2 |
| February 1, 2000 |
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Helping Hands by KRISTINA VAN ARSDEL Texas Medical Center News
The Salud! program at the Chicano Family Center extends well beyond one physical address. Its offices are the homes, the churches, the clinic, the childcare center at the YWCA-M.D. Anderson branch, the bus stops that make up the Magnolia and Second Ward area. Its client is the community. Salud! (meaning "health" in Spanish) began as a result of a needs assessment conducted by Episcopal Health Charities in 1997. Interviews with residents of this predominantly Hispanic area brought to light cultural issues, language barriers and access to health care among the obstacles facing this community. "We needed a program that did outreach," says Gail Bray, research director for Episcopal Health Charities. "Not just health education, but a program that developed trust in the community, a place for people to go for social services and information about health care - everything from getting food stamps to providing English translation on immunization requirements for school. "We thought the Salud! program would be able to meet those needs, and they have just done an outstanding job," she says. During the first year, the Salud! program organizers found that they not only needed to assess the community's health, but that the spirituality component of residents' lives should be addressed as well. This changed the focus of their assessment to include both the needs and the strengths of the community. "When we asked them what gave meaning to their life, people said, `it is wonderful that you asked me because I really felt depressed focusing on my need, but now I realize that I really have a lot going for me,'" says Salud! program director Kathy Sullivan, Ph.D. Dr. Sullivan and her staff are looking at family and personal medical history and, based on the information, are creating a health plan for each family. Home visits to assess the safety of the environment and provide one-on-one instruction with the mothers would often turn up problems like no running water or no functioning stove, says Dr. Sullivan, problems that may have gone undetected if not for the home visit. The Madres Apoyando a Madres (MAM) or Mothers Supporting Mothers program arose out of these assessments. Known as "resource moms," these women are the arms of the Salud! program within their own communities. They become leaders of educational support groups and are available as a resource for neighbors who, for example, may not know where to go to receive prenatal care and other health care services. Patricia Morales, a case manager with Salud!, works with the group and proudly refers to them as "our moms." She says that about 60 women have completed the program to become resource moms, two of which have since taken positions with the Chicano Family Center. Education and nutrition classes are two major components of the MAM program. The enrolled moms can take GED and ESL classes; Shell Oil has built and equipped a computer lab last December that will allow the creation of a business training program to expand the education department at the Chicano Family Center, where the classes are held. The nutrition classes not only teach the moms how to cook healthy meals, but also how to implement what they have learned into their family's routine. As part of the program, each participant holds a fiesta for which they produce a meal and invite three neighbors. "They learn to connect with their neighbors," says Dr. Sullivan. "It is really touching because many of them do not tend to do that." Judy Hopkinson, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of pediatrics nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine, has trained several of the resource moms to become breastfeeding educators in their East End community through the Proyecto Leche de Vida program. The program is a joint project of the Texas Department of Health, Episcopal Health Charities and the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. "It is a four-part series that trains them to be breastfeeding educators so they can go out and help women who are starting to breastfeed to make sure they are starting right or refer them to someone if they need help. "The goal is to see the information about breastfeeding and the attitude about exclusive breastfeeding being a priority become imbedded in the culture itself," says Dr. Hopkinson. "We are interested in sharing expertise as much as we can and then empowering people to go out and help each other." Salud! is beginning a program for dads, too. Called Beneficios de la Paternidad (The Benefits of Fatherhood), this program brings men together for parenting classes. Dr. Sullivan says they would like to begin training men to be resource dads in the future. Staff members of the Chicano Family Center's Salud! program take the word "outreach" seriously, going beyond the walls of their building to interact with the community. Imagine being new to a city in another country where an unfamiliar language is spoken. The scenario begs a host of questions: How do I get around town? Where is the nearest hospital? How do I get there? Where do I go once I am there? Staff members of the Salud! program not only provide people in the East End community with information, they will personally direct them. "Sometimes it means getting in a car and taking people," says Dr. Sullivan. "Navigating them through a system builds their confidence to do it the next time." The program coordinators are also working with area churches to get information out about resources. The Chicano Family Center, the Institute of Religion and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church founded the Magnolia Park Interfaith Health Ministry in September of last year to coordinate such efforts. The groups plan to work together to offer services such as immunizations, flu shots and health fairs to the residents of the community. "The alliance galvanizes churches across religions for the health needs and well-being of the neighborhood," explains Dr. Sullivan. Parish nurses play an important role in faith-based health care. Bertha Ortiz, a parish nurse with the Institute of Religion who serves this particular community, describes her job as one of an advocate, a referral agent, a health educator, and a connection between faith and health. "One way that we try to work together is to bring the programs to the church, and have the people make the connection that you can find your spiritual well-being and also some help for your health," says Ortiz. "Once that connection is made, hopefully other things begin to grow from that." Ortiz says the need in this area of Houston is overwhelming. "I get a lot of `I can't believe the church is doing this. It's so wonderful you are here,'" she says. (Ortiz's position is funded by Episcopal Health Charities.) Collaboration among all facets of the community is something Dr. Sullivan stresses throughout her descriptions of the program's services. "It's got to be a community effort or it's not going to be successful." The health services offered through the Salud! program complement the many other programs at the Chicano Family Center. Services are available to assist residents in the East End neighborhood with overcoming substance abuse, dealing with issues of domestic violence, increasing HIV/AIDS awareness to name just a few programs. "Because we are a social service agency, we can fill a lot of the gaps," says Dr. Sullivan. "If you come for a flu shot but you also need counseling or food for that day, we can supplement those needs." All of the programs at the Chicano Family Center, a United Way Agency founded in 1972, are centered around the goals of strengthening families and enriching lives.
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmc-info@tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/02_01_00/page_02.html |
