In the first blog we discussed the health disparities that the Latine community faces, as well as the barriers that go along with these. This includes lack of insurance, language and cultural barriers, and lack of representation in the healthcare field. In the second blog we focused on the latter, emphasizing the lack of Latine healthcare providers and the barriers that our community may face on the healthcare career path. One of these barriers included the lack of representation and knowledge of Latine physicians and researchers. "You can't be something that you don't know about". As our last blog post we wanted to highlight some Latine leaders, healthcare providers, and researchers that have made their mark in the field. We hope that they inspire those into joining the healthcare community and help to continue to reduce health disparities and barriers within the Latine community! Carlos Juan Finlay, MD 1833-1915Born in 1833 in Cuba, he grew up during the largest outbreaks of yellow fever, a disease that included symptoms like bleeding from the mouth, vomiting, and organ failure. Carlos Finlay saw the fear that surrounded this disease and made it his goal to end it. He graduated in 1855 from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA and focused his energy on understanding the cause of yellow fever. After years of ridicule, his finding that mosquitos were the main cause of transmission, the U.S. army eventually followed his recommendation to control the mosquito population. This led to the completion of the Panama Canal. He was praised for his thinking being "the best piece of logical reasoning that can be found in medicine anywhere". José Celso Barbosa, MD (1857-1921)In 1875 Barbosa left Puerto Rico to New York to pursue a career in medicine, which was inspired by a brush with pneumonia. However, officials at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons rejected his application on the basis that "at a faculty meeting held last night it was decided not to receive students of color". This did not stop Barbosa and he graduated in 1880 from University of Michigan as the first Puerto Rican to receive a medical degree in the United States. His career included caring for soldiers during the Spanish-American War, treating poor patients across Puerto Rico, advocated for a need of employer-based health care insurance, and founded a party that fought for US statehood for PR. He was dubbed the "father of the Puerto Rican statehood movement." Ildaura Murillo-Rohde, PhD, RN (1920-2010)She was known as "The Hispanic whirlwind" for her work as an advocate, nurse, therapist, and educator. She was born in Panama to a family of health professionals. She studied nursing at Medical and Surgical Hospital of Nursing in San Antonio, Texas, graduating in 1948. Murillo-Rohde was shocked to see the limited number of Hispanic nurses serving a large Hispanic population. After graduating, she pursued several other degrees including a PhD from NYU in 1971. Her career ranged from writing about issues from single parenthood to same-sex couples, becoming the first Hispanic dean of nursing at NYU, and creating the National Association of Hispanic Nurses in 1975. Murillo-Rohde's career and advocacy earned her a spot as one of the American Academy of Nursing's living legends. Helen Rodríguez-Trías, MD (1929-2001)Rodríguez-Trías graduated from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in 1970 and soon after began working towards quality care and cultural awareness of minority populations at the Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx as the head of pediatrics. One of the biggest issues that she focused on were the government-led programs that focused on coercing women to undergo sterilization, especially minority women and those with physical disabilities. She co-founded the Campaign to End Sterilization Abuse, which fought for stricter guidelines for consent in 1979. In the 80s she focused her efforts on helping mothers and children who suffered from HIV and/or AIDS, establishing standards of care that became a model for the whole country. She was the first Latina to preside over the American Public Health Association, promoting health equity and women's rights. Before her death she gave her wish "that no one is going to have quality of life unless we support everyone's quality of life." Dr. Jane Delgado, 1953 - presentDr. Jane Delgado was born in 1953, and is a Cuban-American Psychologist, a healthcare advocate, author, and on-profit executive. She was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States with her family to Brooklyn in 1955. Delgado holds an M.A. in Psychology from New York University '75, a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from State University of New York at Stony Brook '81, and an M.S. in Urban and Policy Sciences from Stony Brook's W. Averell Harriman School of Management and Policy. She is the author of The Latina Guide to Health, as well as the Buena Salud Guidebook Series. Delgado has worked to promote minority health and the Department of Health and Human Services, making contributions to reduce health disparities and working on the Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Black and Minority Health in 1985. Delgado also led what would later become the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (NAHH), where she served as the first female president, and now serves as the CEO. The NAHH provides service to more than 100 million people in various health related programs. Their most recent campaign being a bilingual one on COVID-19 precautions. Antonia Novello, M.D. 1944 - presentDr. Antonia Novello was born In 1944 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The oldest of 3, raised by her mother as her father died when she was 8 years old. As a child Novello was diagnosed with Congenital megacolon, an abnormal dilation of the colon, which should have been fixed early on with surgery. However, Novello would not get this surgery until 18 years later, making multiple trips to the hospital in between. She speaks as this being motivation to study to be a doctor. Dr. Novello has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from The University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in San Juan, and a Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Novello was appointed Surgeon General of the United States by George Bush in 1990, becoming the first woman and Latina to ever have received the honor. In this position she focused on fighting underage drinking and smoking ads that targeted children. She was part of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, worked with the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Disorders at the National Institute of Health (NIH). Novello was the Deputy Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, making contributions in the area of pediatric AIDS. She also helped draft legislation for the Organ Transplantation Procurement Act of 1984. "service is the rent that you pay for living" - Dr. Novello Nora Volkow, M.D. 1956 - PresentNora Volkow was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1956. She attended the Modern American School and earned her Medical Degree at the National University of Mexico in Mexico City. She is one of the most influential research psychiatrists in the field of substance abuse and addiction, and believes that addiction is a disease. She is the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Her contributions of using brain imaging to drug abuse and addiction has changed this field exponentially, using a PET scan to study people with a cocaine addiction instead of those with schizophrenia and finding changes in blood flow to the prefrontal cortex after 10 days of withdrawal. She was set on this path after going through part of her career watching people suffer from addiction and drug abuse. She saw how the medical field would treat the symptoms, but never attack the root cause to try and solve it. She has changed views on drug abuse being a personal weakness to instead being a brain disease. Serena Auñón-Chancellor, M.D. 1976 - PresentAuñón-Chancellor was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1976. Her father, a Cuban exile, arrived in the United States in 1960. As a child she always knew she was interested in becoming an astronaut. Auñón-Chancellor holds a B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University, and an M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She first started working at NASA in 2006 as a flight surgeon. She then completed an Aerospace Medicine Residency in 2007 and an M.P.H. at UTMB.
Auñón-Chancellor was the second female Latina NASA Astronaut, and the first Latina female doctor to become a NASA astronaut. She served as Deputy Surgeon for a Space crew in 2009, and was later chosen to be an astronaut, with her first mission in 2012. Since then, Auñón-Chancellor treats patients and trains internal medicine residents at LSU Health Sciences Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has been treating COVID-19 patients and has stated that the ISS taught her important lessons for handling COVID, self care and teamwork.
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AuthorsPaula Norato - MPA Student at The University of Connecticut, with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cell Biology, minor in Latino Studies. ArchivesCategories |