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Contact: 281-489-1111
DML Administrator
DML Launches its “COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM”
October 14, 2022, Houston, Texas. On June 30, 2022, Dia de la Mujer Latina, Inc. (DML), a Latina Community-Based Organizations, received the Dept of Labor’s approval as an Apprenticeship Program for Community Health Workers. This designation solidifies the DML’s commitment to expand the role of Promotores & Community Health Workers (Promotoras/CHWs) to address misinformation, miscommunication, and mistrust, especially within our Black and Brown communities. Funding for this program was secured by private and public donations.
As part of DML’s 25th anniversary and Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, DML is following up on many issues raised by our Promotoras/CHWs during the April 8th Conference, where the U.S Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, personally acknowledged their dedicated time, service, and commitment to community engagement, especially throughout the pandemic. Sadly, they are not recognized efficaciously in terms of funding, equitable compensation, and employment/career opportunities. DML and the Intercultural Center for Health Research, and Wellness, Inc., (ICHRW) created several key programs, increasing the roles and responsibilities for P/CHWs, as trusted members of our community by using key core competency skills to better prepare them to promote accessible, affordable, and accountable health and wellness in our underserved and underrepresented populations, in an effort, to address the social, economic, physical factors that contribute to health inequities.
As an approved TX State Sponsored Training Program since 2009, and with over 5,800 P/CHWs, and 267 instructors, in Texas alone, DML launched its 29th Generation of P/CHWs on September 8th, 2022, beginning with a comprehensive series of training programs that will provide them with real world experiences, expand their skillset and be mentored by several of DML’s certified instructors.
Leveraging their cultural and linguistic skills to serve communities across the state of Texas, these Promotoras/CHWs, trained and certified, are well-prepared to serve as Vaccination Community Navigators, a bilingual program, in partnership with Vaccinate Your Family. Additionally, training as Behavioral Community Navigators, Clinical Trial Community Navigators, and Telehealth Community Navigators Certifications will increase their career options. “Our goal is for the proper recognition of this incredible workforce to be integrated into all aspects of health and wellness,” stated Venus Ginés, President/Founder of DML.
Since 1997, Día de la Mujer Latina (DML), founded by a Latina breast cancer survivor, has been celebrating its signature health fiestas, patient navigation program, and training of Promotores / Community Health Workers to address the impact of social determinants of health on our marginalized populations.
Community Health Workers Embark on the 5-City Health Fiesta/Health Equity Tour
“Preparing for COVID Aftershocks”
(Houston, TX) – May 3, 2022, Día de la Mujer Latina(DML) and the Intercultural Center for Health, Research & Wellness will launch its first 5-City Health Fiesta/Health Equity Tour, to Prepare for COVID Aftershocks.
“The widespread and continuous misinformation about COVID-19, declining vaccination rates in children, misconceptions about women’s cancers and maternal health, and the lack of bilingual mental health peer counselors have led to more anxiety, depression, stress, and stigma. We must challenge the status quo in addressing systemic barriers that consistently promote mistrust” stated Venus Ginés, DML’s President/Founder.
Many Promotores/Community Health Workers (P/CHWs) have become their communities’ “go-to” source for information on behavioral health-related issues, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. P/CHWs, are well-positioned to build trust in their communities and reduce health and wellness disparities because of their ability to connect and engage in meaningful, in-depth conversations. As trusted members of the communities they serve, P/CHWs understand the needs, values, and challenges within these communities. They are uniquely positioned to provide insights and innovative strategies that deliver better outcomes when compared to conventional public health outreach.
The theme of “COVID Aftershocks” was the backdrop of the successful 2-day P/CHW Conference hosted in Houston on April 8-9, 2022 (https://www.diadelamujerlatina.org/conference-recap/. Over 300 P/CHWs received training as Vaccination Community Navigators and learned about the strategies to prepare for COVID Aftershocks, as we prepare for more variants, more cases in respiratory disorders, and more access issues related to mental health. Although “aftershocks” are typically associated with earthquakes; it is also defined as impact, after-effects of a significant and unpleasant event, and shock. During the conference, P/CHWs discussed the impact of COVID disparities on our Community(misinformation), Mind (mental health), Body (variants/Long COVID), and Spirit (Faith, Hope, and Kindness). These trusted cultural messengers shared that the most pressing issue they found difficult to deal with was related to the lack of mental health services, not only for their constituents but also for themselves.
The 5-city Health Fiesta/Health Equity Tour will offer Community Partners and P/CHWs the playbook toward increasing resiliency by delivering accessible, affordable, and accountable services in Houston (May 7th, June 4th) El Paso (June 25th); Orlando (July 30th); Chicago (Aug 13th), and Los Angeles (Sep 17th).
The Tour will kick off in our own backyard, right here in Houston Texas. In partnership with the Houston Health Department, we will be offering free breast/cervical cancer screening, diabetes, vision and blood pressure test, in addition to vaccines for children and COVID vaccines for all. For more information, please visit us at www.diadelamujerlatina.org
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, DML’s mission continues to provide early detection screenings for chronic and infectious diseases nationally via its signature health fiestas & community navigation via our Telehealth Community Navigator Center as a medium to prepare, protect, and navigate vulnerable communities against the virus and more importantly misinformation.
Celebrating National Public Health Week with the hosting of
12th Annual Expanding the Role of Promotores/CHWs:
“Preparing for COVID Aftershocks” Conference-April 8-9, 2022
April 4, 2022, Houston, Texas. As part of the celebration of National Public Health Week, Día de la Mujer Latina (DML) and the Intercultural Ctr for Health, Research & Wellness will host its 12th Annual Expanding the Role of Promotores/CHWs: Preparing for COVID Aftershocks conference, on April 8th and 9th at Hiram Clarke Multiservice Center 3810 W. Fuqua. Houston, Tx. 77045, where these amazing, trusted messengers will learn best practices on how to prepare for the next wave of health and wellness issues that will impact many lives in the aftermath of this pandemic.
Our Keynote Speaker will be the Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy who will speak to the hundreds of Promotores/Community Health Workers (PCHWs) who have been door to door, providing important public health support in their communities. “We know the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the Black and Brown communities disproportionately, therefore we need to first acknowledge the value of CHWs in community engagement and then integrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities into the public healthcare workforce,” stated Venus Ginés, DML’s President/Founder.
Our partners at the National Association of Community Health Workers, have expressed concerns over the prominence and sustainability of the community health worker profession today. Hundreds of millions of dollars were supposed to go to building a community health workforce after the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law last March, said Denise Smith, its founding executive director. But, she said, much of the money is being quickly spent on health departments or national initiatives, not local, community-based organizations.
Whether it is the growing crisis of mental health among our young people or future pandemics, we must be better prepared to debunk misinformation, misconceptions, and mistrust by investing in the community and faith-based ministries to build capacity and resiliency.
The Conference will also culminate with the final module of the Vaccination Community Navigation Training Program. Día de la Mujer Latina (DML) and Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) joined forces to empower P/CHWs with a culturally and linguistically tailored certificate training program, a 4-series, Vaccination Community Navigator Certificate Program, approved by the Texas Department of State Health Services. DML and the Intercultural Ctr for Health, Research & Wellness launched the first of three series of modules that highlight the past, present, and future of vaccination, learning about the nuts and bolts of vaccines and addressing the social determinants of health and wellness and COVID 19, with a goal to develop community capacity building skills in reducing the hyper disparities that continue to impact our marginalized populations.
Friday, April 8th
English Conference
9AM-3PM
Hiram Clarke Multi-Service Center,
3810 W Fuqua St, Houston, TX 77045
Saturday, April 9th
Conferencia en español
9AM-3PM
St. Paul Episcopal Church
7843 Park Pl Blvd, Houston, TX 77087
Houston Nonprofit Tackles COVID-19 Racial Disparities with Culturally Comprehensive Health and Wellness Training
(Houston, TX) – On January 17, 2022, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision and mission of equity, Día de la Mujer Latina (DML) and the Intercultural Center for Health, Research Wellness will launch the Vaccination Community Navigator Certificate Program to train community members, specifically Community Health Workers, in developing the capacity building skills needed to address the lingering health concerns, among communities of color, regarding COVID-19 virus and the vaccines to combat the virus. This training program was created in partnership with the national nonprofit organization Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) and approved by the Texas Department of State Health Services, to empower Promotores and Community Health Workers (P/CHWs) with a culturally and linguistically tailored certification course.
“With rapidly increasing COVID 19 case rates, declining vaccination rates, and millions yet to be vaccinated, we must confront the systemic barriers in place, such as mistrust and accessibility
issues, that are keeping our communities from getting vaccinated” stated Venus Ginés, DML’s President/Founder. This culturally and linguistically tailored educational training program is just
one way that this team will bridge that gap and empower trusted messengers with the skills they need to tackle these issues. As frontline public health workers, P/CHWs are especially well positioned to build vaccine confidence in their communities and reduce vaccine disparities. Given the fact that P/CHWs often come from the same communities they serve, P/CHWs are better able to understand the needs, values, and challenges within these communities. This
allows them to serve as a bridge between their communities and public health and medical services––particularly in areas where trust in medical institutions is low and barriers to accessing those services are substantial. Many P/CHWs have become their communities’ go-to
source for information on health-related issues, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
VYF is grateful to be partnering with DML on this life-saving mission” stated Amy Pisani, CEO, Vaccinate Your Family. “It has become startlingly clear that trusted messengers are the key to combatting disinformation about life-saving vaccines and guiding community members to the
services they deserve. While our partnership with DML only came to be during the pandemic, our shared vision of equity and inclusion will make for lasting change that will carve a path for
communities towards the life-saving vaccines in Houston and across the nation.”
For 25 years, DML’s mission continues to focus on bringing health screenings for early detection of cancer and other chronic and infectious diseases nationally via its signature health fiestas. When a pandemic looked imminent in February 2020, DML moved quickly to train P/CHWs on dispelling myths and rumors about COVID 19, provide Behavior Community Health Navigation, and implemented a Telehealth Community Navigator Center as a medium to prepare, protect, and navigate their communities against the virus and more importantly misinformation.
For 25 years, DML’s mission continues to focus on bringing health screenings for early detection of cancer and other chronic and infectious diseases nationally via its signature health fiestas. When a pandemic looked imminent in February 2020, DML moved quickly to train P/CHWs on dispelling myths and rumors about COVID 19, provide Behavior Community Health Navigation, and implemented a Telehealth Community Navigator Center as a medium to prepare, protect, and navigate their communities against the virus and more importantly misinformation.
ABOUT DÍA DE LA MUJER LATINA
Día de la Mujer Latina is a Latino community-based organization in Houston, Texas. DML’s
mission is to promote healthy behaviors within the underserved Latino community by offering a culturally and linguistically proficient education and Patient Navigation for follow-up services, facilitating early detection health screenings, providing culturally preventative care interventions and training programs for Promotores / Community Health Workers, promoting
wellness and navigation with resource information.
ABOUT VACCINATE YOUR FAMILY
Vaccinate Your Family was founded thirty years ago by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and
Former First Lady of Arkansas Betty Bumpers. VYF strives to protect people of all ages from vaccine preventable diseases by: raising awareness of the critical need for timely immunizations; increasing the public’s understanding of the benefits of vaccines; increasing
confidence in the safety of vaccines; ensuring that all families have access to lifesaving vaccines;
and, advocating for policies that support timely vaccination.