Community News

Direct Service Workers Among Growing Local and National Trend as Workers Join Labor Unions to Demand Improvements in Their Workplace and a Voice on the Job Upstate, NY – Direct Service Workers at Hispanics United of Buffalo (Hispanos Unidos de Buffalo), an affiliate of Acacia Network, have followed a national trend by unanimously voting in favor of joining a labor union this week. Approximately 31 direct service workers at Hispanics United of Buffalo voted to join 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest healthcare workers union in the country. “At least our voices will be heard now,” said Marianela Rodriguez, Case Manager. “Our union will help us be even more successful at work,” added Rodriguez. “Even as a full-time working mother, it is difficult to meet my family’s financial needs,” said Alexandria Carlucci, Care Coordinator. “Now, with the support of a union behind me, my compensation will start to reflect my labor,” said Carlucci. Hispanos Unidos de Buffalo is a non-profit organization providing direct care and social services to at-risk communities across Western New York. It is an affiliate of Acacia Network, a Latino-led organization offering services such as health, housing, and social services. Workers voted to join the union alongside their colleagues from Acacia Network who joined last year at Promesa, Inc Safepoint Lighthouse in Dunkirk and Alba de Vida Clinic in Buffalo. The newly organized workers at Hispanos Unidos de Buffalo include roles such as Care Coordinator, Senior Case Manager, Receptionist, Quality Control, Quality Control Assistant, Residential Aide, Pantry Assistant, Service Worker, Education and Employment Specialist, Biller, Housing Specialist, Driver, Maintenance Worker, and Janitor. Workers will begin negotiating their first union contract soon. 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 400,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all. Home Read More From Buffalo Latino Village All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports Technology Hispanics United of Buffalo Workers Unanimously Vote to Join 1199SEIU, Largest Healthcare Workers Union October 14, 2024/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More NEARLY 50 YEARS AFTER RESEARCH BEGAN, MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS ABOUT LATINO HEART HEALTH October 9, 2024/No Comments By Laura Williamson, American Heart Association News There are more than 65 million Hispanic and Latino people living in the… Read More MAKING LATINO POWER MOVE! From LATINAS EVOLVING October 7, 2024/No Comments The “Making Power Moves” Hispanic Entrepreneur Panel Discussion, held in honor of “Hispanic Heritage Month”, was an outstanding success! I’d… Read More Load More End of Content.

By Laura Williamson, American Heart Association News There are more than 65 million Hispanic and Latino people living in the U.S. – the second-largest racial or ethnic minority population in the country. Yet when it comes to heart and brain health, less may be understood about this population than any other. Researchers say the reasons for this are complex, but two stand out: While often lumped together, people of Hispanic origin are not actually one group, but many. And for decades, nobody studied them.  In fact, until the 1980s, nobody even counted them – or collected comprehensive data about their health. Half a century later, many questions remain unanswered.  “For years, all we had was anecdotal evidence about health trends,” said Dr. Lindsay Fernández-Rhodes, an associate professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State College of Health and Human Development in University Park, Pennsylvania. “Before you have the data to measure something, it may appear that it doesn’t exist.”  Defining the population: Hispanic or Latino? Many people and entities, including the federal government, lump people of Hispanic and Latino origin together, but the two terms have different meanings.  Hispanic refers to people with ancestry from a country where Spanish is the primary language spoken, including Spain or any of the countries it colonized. Latino refers to people with origins anywhere in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Census Bureau uses the two terms to cover anyone whose family has origins in Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South or Central America or places from any “other Spanish culture or origin.” People of Hispanic and Latino origins may be of any race.  This covers a broad range of cultures, geographic origins, languages, nutritional preferences and socioeconomic statuses, with differences in how people access the health care system. And all these factors can affect a person’s health, said Dr. Fátima Rodríguez, an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in California.  “Studying all of these people together does not make sense,” she said. “We’re starting to recognize this is a highly diverse group of people, and the heterogeneity and diversity within the Hispanic population make it impossible to generalize to all of these groups. We need to consider how social determinants of health affect each group individually.”  Early focus largely on people with Mexican heritage: Hispanic and Latino people have been part of the U.S. since before the nation’s beginning, especially in Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, which once belonged to Mexico. Because of the large numbers of Mexican American people living there, early studies of Hispanic cardiovascular health focused on this population.  Some of the first studies looked at people of Mexican descent living in and around San Antonio, Texas. During the 1970s, researchers were seeking clues about what was causing a decline in heart disease mortality rates in the U.S. They thought they’d find them by comparing health trends for people of differing cultural and economic backgrounds, so they compared death rates for white men and women to those for people with Spanish surnames. They theorized that because Hispanic people had lower socioeconomic status, they would have higher death rates than their more affluent white peers. They did not. Mexican American women, in particular, were seeing declines in heart disease death rates that puzzled researchers.   This was the first indication that Hispanic and Latino populations might have differences that merit investigation, but “it was not a representative sample of Hispanics and Latinos across the U.S.,” said Dr. Larissa Avilés-Santa, director of clinical and health services research at the National Institutes of Minority Health and Health Disparities. Nonetheless, “we began to recognize that something was happening here.”  Opening the door to research: Researchers couldn’t look at national data for health trends among Hispanic people because there wasn’t any. It wasn’t until 1980 that a question regarding Hispanic or Latino heritage was included on U.S. census forms. Once this demographic data was collected, it allowed researchers to construct studies such as the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or HHANES. It collected comprehensive data about the health and nutritional status and needs for three Hispanic subgroups: Mexican Americans in five Southwestern states; Cuban Americans in Dade County, Florida; and Puerto Ricans in New York City and the surrounding area.  The 1982 to 1984 survey was the first time the National Center for Health Statistics looked at a specific population. However, it covered only 76% of the Hispanic population living in the U.S. at the time. Researchers collected socioeconomic, health and demographic data and conducted physical and dental exams and a series of lab tests, creating what was then the largest and most comprehensive health database for this population in the U.S.  The medical data collected included the presence of chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression, along with information on insurance coverage, use of the health care system and exposure to environmental toxins such as lead. “Really, what it took was recognizing from the census data that there was a growing demographic group that warranted study,” Fernández-Rhodes said. “And that’s when a fuller picture began to emerge.”  The Hispanic paradox: As data began to surface, some puzzling questions arose. In 1986, an analysis of two decades of studies on the health status of Hispanic people in the Southwest, most of whom were of Mexican origin, found an anomaly in health trend data between Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations that quickly became known as the “Hispanic paradox.”  The researchers noted that Hispanic people, who faced socioeconomic disadvantages similar to Black people, nonetheless experienced better health, more in line with their white, non-Hispanic peers. Compared to non-Hispanic white people, Hispanic participants had similar infant mortality rates, life expectancy and death rates for cardiovascular disease and cancer. Subsequent studies found even lower heart disease mortality rates for Hispanic populations than their non-Hispanic white peers. In contrast, studies consistently found Hispanic people in the U.S. had higher rates of diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors, such

The “Making Power Moves” Hispanic Entrepreneur Panel Discussion, held in honor of “Hispanic Heritage Month”, was an outstanding success! I’d like to express heartfelt thanks to Sheana VanDyne of the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York Inc. and Stephanie Rivera of Half Luna Empanadas for their exceptional efforts in organizing this event. And yes, those breakfast empanadas were sensational!  We’ve become event planning besties! Despite our day jobs and the demands of motherhood, we leveraged our collective strengths and made it work. This event was a testament to the incredible power of collaboration. To our esteemed panelists Luis Rodriguez, Dr. Leah Angel Daniel, David Gonzalez, and Stephanie Rivera — incredible! Your engagement, your insights, and your dedication to our community left us all profoundly moved. Your fervor for your work, your profound knowledge, and your commitment to our community shone brightly. We are grateful for your openness, for sharing your experiences, and for imparting valuable wisdom for us to take forward. Our gratitude extends to all presenters and volunteers for their time. Lastly, heartfelt thanks to Royce Woods and Lisa from Citizens Bank, and Sherri Falck from Pursuit Lending, not just for sponsoring our inaugural event but also for embracing this vision and offering unwavering support. It wouldn’t have been possible without you! Latino entrepreneurs craft their own futures, establishing enterprises that mold communities and motivate successive generations.  Made possible by Latinas Evolving, Hispanic Heritage Council, Community Citizens Bank, and Pursuit Lending.  Event location contact: Innovation Center, 640 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, 716-218-7157, Smarrazzo@bnmc.org, innovationcenterbuffalo.org    Read More From Buffalo Latino Village All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports Technology Uncategorized MAKING LATINO POWER MOVE! From LATINAS EVOLVING October 7, 2024/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Celebrates 60 Years of our Central Library October 7, 2024/No Comments BUFFALO, N.Y. – October 3, 2024 – In 1964, a new chapter in Buffalo’s story unfolded with the opening of the… Read More Thousands of Books Being Given Awayat Frontier’s Fall into Reading Festivalon Saturday, October 19 October 7, 2024/No Comments The Frontier Central School District’s Fall into Reading Festival, which started two years ago to get books into the hands… Read More Load More End of Content.