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Join the National Call-In Day for Women of Color to Demand Health Reform!

3:55 pm By la Macha · Health · 3 Comments

26 Oct 2009

From the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health comes this call to action. Even if you can’t call in today, calling in tomorrow will work just fine! Call in whenever you can!

On October 20, hundreds of women of color heard from the White House. If you missed it, you can hear a recording of the call here. Now, it’s time for us to take the message to Congress.

Women of color keep this country working. That means that our national health care system should work for us. But, as health care consumers, workers, and decision-makers for our families, we know that the current system is greatly failing women of color.

Right now, we have the opportunity to really do something about it.

Congress is working to finalize a health reform bill that – if passed – will improve access to quality, affordable care. But there are lots of people out there who are trying to block the process. We must add our voices to the debate. Congress must hear that women of color demand real health reform.

TOMORROW, Women of Color United for Health Reform is hosting a National Call-In Day in support of real health reform. Take action and join the call!

1. Dial 877-264-4226. Many thanks to our friends at Health Care for American NOW! for letting us use this service.

2. Ask the operator to connect you to your Senator or Representative and give the operator your zip code. Once the operator connects you to your Representative/Senator’s office, a staffer in the office will answer the call.

3. Say:

My name is _____ ________, and I am calling today to ask you to support health reform.

I work hard, and I deserve a national health care system that works hard for me. As a woman of color, I see first-hand how the current system is failing. More people in my community are likely to be uninsured or under-insured. We also have a higher rate of chronic or pre-existing conditions, and spend a greater percentage of our income on health care than others.

This country should have a health care system that ensures everybody can access affordable, quality, culturally appropriate care over the course of their lifespan.

[If you would like, insert your own story!]

Please pass a health reform bill that will work for women of color.
Thank you for your time.

4. Repeat. You have two Senators and one Representative representing you in Congress. If you can, call three times to leave this message with all three of your federal elected officials.

To learn more about Women of Color United for Health Reform and what we believe should be included in Congress’ health reform bill, click here.

Obama’s Health Care Reform Pitch : Why Reform isn’t the Same as Change

12 Sep 2009

In my interactions with the beltway over the past few weeks, be it via email or watching Obama’s speech to Congress and the “American” people on his health care reform package, I have been re-reminded of one fact. When D.C. speaks of reform, this has nothing to do with rights : human, civil or rights of any stripe.

I was interested in hearing Obama’s health care reform pitch for a number of reasons which cross that political/personal line. I am one of the millions of uninsured. My family has a history of cancer and I have personally seen what being uninsured and underinsured has meant for some of the most beloved members of my family (including death). My children are insured thanks to the public health system. Will Obama’s plan mean that I, who am poor enough to have my kids get medicaid but not poor enough to have myself covered (in large part because the government doesn’t accept my proof of income as an independent worker), finally will see a doctor? The last time I saw a health care provider was 2 and a half years ago when I was pregnant. Do I have to get knocked up again to get health care? And if there is no public option, will I be fined (money I don’t have) because health insurance is mandated and I still can’t afford it? What about my vecinos and members of my extended family who didn’t even bother watching Obama because as undocumented immigrants they have already been thrown under the bus? When the speech was over, when the heckling was quieted, and everyone stopped applauding, Obama had lost what tiny pedazo of support I had left for him.
Read more…

ACHÉ! The First Alternative Womyn’s Health & Wellness Cooperative in the South Bronx

8:07 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Activism| Health| New York City| Women · Comments Off

6 Sep 2009

This makes so happy. Hopefully it can be an inspiration for other communities, not just across New York City but across the country. This isn’t health care reform. This is health care revolution!

Celebrate with CASA – The Launching of ACHÉ!
The First Alternative Womyn’s Health & Wellness Cooperative in the South Bronx

Casa is launching the first Womyn’s Alternative Health and Wellness Cooperative – ACHÉ (Alternative Cooperative for Healing & Empowerment) for young and adult womyn this Fall. Inspired by the womyn in the Zapatista community and their organizing & movement building for autonomy, we are creating our model for sustainable and accessible healthcare for community, activist & organizers. The cooperative will support the health and wellness needs of womyn while being a respite to integrate self care into their daily practice and heal from internalized oppression.

ACHE will have spirituality, culture & human rights at the core of its sustainability. We use earth based spirituality to create sacred space to align ourselves with the healing elements of the season for the healing of our mind, body and spirit. Join our monthly healing circles(a monthly healing women’s group to break the silence of issues affecting community women including trauma of DV, violence, sexual assault, self mutilation, low self esteem, disordered eating etc.)We also offer complementary workshops such as: yoga, reiki, alternative fitness, afro-Caribbean rhythms, healing remedies, acupressure, meditation, and more.

JOIN OUR HEALERS NETWORK TODAY!

We are looking for health practitioners, curanderas, folk healers, midwives, organizers, artist, etc. to join our Womyn of Color Healers Network, which will regularly provide free or low cost health care and wellness classes and trainings that include self gyn examinations, childbirth, STD/HIV prevention and alternative care, herbal medicine, nutrition, healthy meal preparation, holistic therapies, natural medicine treatment of weak immune systems, and trauma.

This Summer, Stay off the Tanning Beds

11:01 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Health| Women| society · 6 Comments

29 Jul 2009

Summer is here and as we’re starting to don skirts and shorts, some of us (cough cough) might be a little pasty after a long, winter-like spring. And some of us (cough cough) might have briefly entertained the idea of visiting a tanning bed before showing our pale thighs on the beach. If that’s the case (and you know who you are), please take the following as yet another reason why you shouldn’t go cooking yourself in one of those things:

The ultraviolet light used in tanning beds is as carcinogenic as asbestos, arsenic, radium and cigarettes, a special committee of the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded. The use of sunlamps had previously been classified only as “probably carcinogenic in humans.” Moreover, the committee concluded that all types of UV radiation induce cancer, not just the UV-B that has been implicated in the past. Some tanning salons claim to use only UV-A, which was thought to be safer, but the committee said that is not the case.

The World Health Organization also says that the risk of cancer increases up to 75% when people start using tanning beds before the age of 30.

Latinas come in all shapes and colors, some lighter than others. And society pressures all women to look perfect — tanning is part of that — but the price in this case is just too high: your health. So remember, if you get the urge to toast your nalguitas artificially, just repeat to yourself again and again: as carcinogenic as asbestos.

Via / LA Times (how apropos)

Mississippi is the Fattest State — but Why?

10:48 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Food| Health| Mississippi| society · 1 Comment

1 Jul 2009

1239771393_kfc_bowl The state of Mississippi has won a top ranking on a list it would probably prefer not to be on at all: the obesity list. According to a new study by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, adult obesity rates increased in 23 states last year, and Mississippi takes the cake, so to speak, in being obese. The Houston Chronicle reports:

• Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row.
• Three additional states now have adult obesity rates above 30 percent, including Alabama, 31.2 percent; West Virginia, 31.1 percent; and Tennessee, 30.2 percent. Ohio ranked 10th with an adult obesity rate of 28.6 percent.
• Colorado had the lowest rate of obese adults, at 18.9 percent, followed by Massachusetts, 21.2 percent; and Connecticut, 21.3 percent.
• Mississippi also had the highest rate of overweight and obese children, at 44.4 percent. It’s followed by Arkansas, 37.5 percent; and Georgia, 37.3 percent.
• Following Alabama, Michigan ranks No. 2 with the most obese 55- to 64-year-olds, 36 percent. Colorado has the lowest rate, 21.8 percent.

What’s perhaps more alarming to me is that Mississippi’s children also lead the nation in obesity. Not surprising (if parents aren’t eating well or exercising, neither are their children) but alarming. And beyond alarming is that Colorado, at nearly 20%, is the U.S.’s “leanest” state.

But to invoke a post by La Macha from earlier this year, as alarmed as we might be by statistics, we need to look at the causes of this problem. Beyond just the superficial “you eat too much junk food” analysis, these statistics have everything to do with access to healthy food, education and everything that goes along with living in impoverished areas or belonging to a traditionally oppressed group.

Instead of just being alarmed, we need to examine the causes and talk about answers to incredibly hard questions: like, is good nutrition really an option for everyone? And what “should” struggling famiilies eat if they only have access to fast food? Aside from the fact that some areas lack access to fresh food, when you are sweating to make ends meet and a bag of organic salad that serves 2 costs $4.99 while you can get a bucket of KFC for the whole family for the same price…is this really even a choice anymore?

What do you think?

Via / Chron.com

Hugo Chavez Says “Drink Your Juice, Support Iran”

22 Jun 2009

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez continues his quest to drive the population towards consumption of local goods and, like a good marketer, he’s telling his people to set down their Coca Cola and pick up a new grape juice product called Juvita. On Chavez’s weekly TV show this past weekend, the message rang like a late-night informercial: Juvita means eternal youth, Coke means evil. From Reuters TV transcripts:

“It is a soft drink that is healthy, nutritious, here it is, its called Juvita. To maintain eternal youth, Juvita. Drink Juvita. Be young eternally instead of drinking that soft drink that, I don’t know, coca, I don’t know, cola, I don’t know what. Drink Juvita. Let’s taste it to see, to stay young eternally. You fathers and the mothers, encourage all parents to drink Juvita.” CHAVEZ BEGINS TO DRINK FROM BOTTLE OF JUVITA SOFT DRINK, SAYING: “Let’s see. Ah, eternal youth. Drink Juvita. How tasty. Did you all try?”

Getting Latin Americans to put down Coca-Cola is a mission impossible. Kind of like getting people in América Latina to give up corn-based products. Not gonna happen. Read more…

Lessons in Swine Flu: How NOT to Wear a Facemask

11 Jun 2009

While most of the world media seems to be over its love affair with swine flu, in the world of viral video (no pun intended) it appears to still be thriving. Take this video from Colombia (where new cases of the flu are still appearing, including a death yesterday) that’s making its away around the Latin American web:

Not very effective.

This poor guy has since become a laughing stock. But to me what is really “interesting” is how after he puts the mask on, the journalist says “well, that’s one way”!

Via / CityTv.com.co

Swine Flu “Patient Zero” Immortalized in a Statue

27 May 2009

964429 Um, what? Sure, he was famous for about a minute, but what’s the motivation behind making little Edgar into a bronze statue? Apparently attracting tourists to his hometown of Perote, Veracruz (Mexico). Reports 20 Minutos:

The statue of patient zero of the new flu in Mexico has a frog in his right hand as a symbol of biblical plagues. It was made by Mexican sculptor Bernardo Luis Artasanchez, who traveled to La Gloria in the town of Perote, Veracruz, to spend time with the youngster and his family.

The effigy, some 4 feet high and weighing 154 pounds, was created at the petition of the Veracruz authorities to symbolize the victory over AH1N1 virus and to attract tourists.

I guess I can understand the “victory over the virus” argument, but to attract tourists? I mean, do you think families will take an alternate route on their way to Veracruz from Mexico City and hit Perote to see the flu boy statue? I’m not seeing it.

Perote is beautiful by the way, I can vouch for it.

Via / 20 Minutos

This Memorial Day, Don’t Pee (or Poo) in the Pool

2:33 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bizarro| Health| holidays · Comments Off

24 May 2009

191206078_6fadcf524a As many of you are out are probably out in the sun, enjoying the weather this Memorial Day weekend, you might be anticipating taking a dip in your neighborhood pool. That’s great, but just try not to pee in it. I know, I know, most of us — if we are honest — would admit that we’ve had the occasion to relieve ourselves of a little chis in a swimming pool once or twice in our lives. I mean, what’s the harm, right? What fellow swimmers don’t know won’t hurt them, correct? That’s not what the CDC says:

When swimmers sweat or urinate in the pool water, the bodily fluids combine with the chlorine. It creates chloramines, which causes the strange odor and the eye and respiratory irritations for swimmers, according to the CDC.

No matter how discreet the act may be, “you’re contaminating the pool. Let’s face it,” said Linda Golodner, the vice chairwoman of the Water Quality and Health Council.

The survey released by Golodner’s group, which advises the American Chemistry Council, found that 11 percent of the surveyed adults said they have swum with a runny nose, 7 percent with an exposed rash or cut and 1 percent when ill with diarrhea. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

But if you think pee in your pool is bad enough, think again. When it comes to people very getting sick from swimming, the real culprit is that last thing they mentioned: diarrhea. Yes, diarrhea in the pool.

The most common recreational water illness is spread through diarrhea. One of the most persistent problems is Cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes diarrhea and can be found in infected stools.

“With Crypto, if you have diarrhea, it’s very watery,” Hlavsa said. “It’s not a formed stool sitting in the pool or floating on top. It could be very watery, and no one [in a pool] would know.”

So this Memorial Day weekend, eat, drink, be merry and swim! But don’t count on me joining you.

Via / CNN

Image via t_a_i_s on Flickr

Obama Reassures Latinos on Swine Flu Epidemic

4:35 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Health| Immigration| Obama| Politics| mexico · 13 Comments

8 May 2009

barack-obama2 As the swine flu hysteria appears to be losing momentum, President Obama reached out to the Latino community today via Latino health professionals in a town hall style meeting with the aim of reassuring Latinos that the epidemic will not lead to discrimination. AP reports:

President Barack Obama sought Friday to reassure Hispanics that swine flu won’t lead to an epidemic of discrimination in the United States just because Mexico has been the epicenter of the outbreak.

At a town hall-style meeting at the White House, Obama told about 130 Latino public health professionals and neighborhood volunteers that the nation’s plan to fight the flu will not exclude their communities. Even if some residents are here illegally, they will still be able to get medical care for the flu, administration officials assured the group.

“We’re one country, we’re one community. When one person gets sick, that has the potential of making us all sick,” Obama said. “We can’t be divided by communities.”

I think it’s interesting that Obama chose to specifically address the Latino community on this issue right now. What do you think is behind this? Just a good excuse to do a bit more courtship?

Via / AP

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