Archive for category Health
Mexican Consulate Aids Mother of Six in Her Return to Mexico
Posted by kristinjones28 in Health, Immigration on May 7, 2012
05/07/2012- Norma Ramírez, a mother of six, had been living illegally in North Carolina for eight years, when earlier this year she was diagnosed with a malignant growth on her urethra in January. Ramírez went through several medical procedures at WakeMed Hospital, but was facing deportation if she continued to receive treatment in the United States. Living with Ramírez in the United States were her two youngest daughters, ages 4 and 5, who are both U.S.-born citizens. Deportation would mean her two young daughters would be left without a guardian in the United States. On the other hand, if she were to move back to Mexico with her daughters, she did not know if she would be able to receive the medical treatment she would need.
Ramírez and her family received an overwhelming amount of support from the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh as well as from many other North Carolinians. The consulate offered to pay for her family to return to Mexico, and for her treatment at a hospital in Acapulco. Selene Barcelo, the deputy consul in Raleigh, said that all treatments, services, and medications would be paid for by the state and provided through the Mexican government.
Ramírez arrived with her two youngest daughters in Acapulco on April 16 and checked in to the Cancer Institute there. She was greeted there by her father and mother; her four other daughters had been living in Mexico with her mother. She has begun receiving treatments, but still has many ahead because the cancer has spread to her other organs.
Associated Press. “Community Aid Helps Mother of 6 Return To Mexico.” wcti12.com. May 6, 2012.
Evaluating State Level Public Policy in Mexico
(03/08/12) On March 8-9, 2012, the Trans-Border Institute participated in a forum on public policy at the state level in Mexico hosted by the United Nations Development Program and the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City. The conference was organized by CIDE professor and former-TBI project coordinator Alejandra Rios Cázares as part of a longer-term project to provide objective information and analysis on “Mexico’s States” (Mexico Estatal). The conference coincided with the launch of a new report and a related database with over 1,300 variables related to state governance and accountability.
Campus of Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
CIDE has been a leading center for the study of decentralization in Mexico, a topic of considerable discussion and debate in Mexico. Over the last thirty years, the Mexican federal government has gradually decentralized both fiscal and decision-making autonomy to state governments. Decentralization brings with it the advantages of greater flexibility and proximity of service to local constituencies, as well as the possibility of policy innovation and experimentation across different states. At the same time, in a country with enormous inequalities, as well as very varied governmental capacity, decentralization also runs the risk of leaving the weakest states to fall behind even as the most advanced prosper.
The “México Estatal” conference explored these issues on Thursday with panel discussions on a range of issues, including accountability, education, and public health challenges at the state level. The Friday panels will include a discussion of public security issues at the state level with TBI Director David Shirk, Mexico Evalua Director Edna Jaime, and international consultant Eduardo Guerrero, as well as a concluding panel on state-level efforts to promote economic development.
The Mexico Estatal project maintains a website (http://www.mexicoestatal.cide.edu), generates objective indicators and analysis, and hosts forums on public policy and accountability issues confronting Mexico in four key areas at the state-level (education, economic development, health and safety).
Sources:
“Presentan plataforma de información México Estatal,” El Informador, March 6, 2012.
“México Estatal,” Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Accessed March 8, 2012.
“Participantes en el seminario ‘Las entidades federativas en prospectiva’,” NotiCIDE, March 7, 2012.
Gardening Fosters Community and Fights Obesity in Arizona
Posted by kristinjones28 in Environment, Health, Sustainability on February 9, 2012
According to the Arizona Sonora News Service, in 2007, Arizona ranked 15th of 50 states for childhood obesity, with 30.1%-35% of children suffering from obesity. Not only is childhood obesity a problem for the state of Arizona, but also within the state’s Hispanic population. The obesity rate of Hispanics in Arizona is at 31.4%, which is higher than the national rate of 28.7%. While there can be many factors that lead to obesity, one of the main causes is a poor diet.
Community gardening in Arizona has become popular in South Tucson as a means to combat the issue of obesity, and it also helps to foster a stronger sense of community. Some groups that have been teaming up to help foster these community gardens are Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW), the House of Neighborly Service (HNS), the Primavera Foundation, and Ochoa Elementary School. Together they have joined to create the Tucson Garden Network, which aims to strengthen the already existing community engagement, and promote partnership with the residents.
“Josefina Ahumada, a board member for the [HNS], said the gardens are a crucial part in working toward the larger picture of promoting a healthy community.” (Adler). She added that community gardens also benefit the community because the residents will have immediate access to food. This will be especially beneficial for new members of the community who have recently emigrated who may have to default to fast food because they are busy with work or adjusting to the American lifestyle. Ultimately, Ahumada adds, “We want to give people alternatives. We are trying to provide opportunities for residents and organizations within the community to get involved and make a difference.” (Adler).
South Tucson resident Chucho Vaisevoi and his son Cajame, 4, look at vegetables in the Ochoa Elementary School Garden. Photo Credit: El Independiente.
Adler, Leah. “Community Gardening Sprouts About Town.” El Independiente. December 6, 2011.
11 year old Mexican girl gives birth, highlighting current abortion debates
An 11-year old girl gave birth to a boy after a 31 week pregnancy in the central city of Puebla, Mexico. The infant was born premature, weighed 3.3. pounds, and was delivered by Caesarian section. He is currently in the intensive care unit recovering from pneumonia. The girl arrived at the hospital on October 22nd, suffering from seizures and life-threatening complications. Hospital officials stated however that the mother and infant are both in good condition and recovering well.
The mother is from the nearby rural community of San Francisco Totimehuacan, and has returned home, although she visits the infant everyday to breastfeed, officials said. The Puebla state Attorney General’s office is conducting an investigation on whether the girl was raped and who the father is, said the hospital director, Rogelio Gonzalez.
Laws in the state say that women are unable to undergo abortions unless they can prove they are victims of sexual assault. If they are unable to prove this, they face a fine or prison sentence. A bill is currently being debated in the Puebla state legislature which would end prison sentences for women who choose to have an abortion for any reason. Previously this year, bills seeking to decriminalize abortion have been rejected in states including Baja California.
Boyle, Christina. “10-year-old Mexican girl gives birth to baby boy after 31-week pregnancy.” NY Daily News. 10 November, 2011.
“Nina mexicana de menos de 11 anos da a luz en la ciudad de Puebla.” EFE. 9 November, 2011.
Mexico takes steps to combat child obesity, claims to have fattest children in the world
Photo Credit: Secretaria de Salud
President Felipe Calderon stated earlier this year that Mexico has the highest rate of obesity for children ages 5 to 19 in the world, and cities throughout the country are taking steps to combat the growing problem. Although much of Mexico’s children are living in poor, rural villages and underweight, the newly industrialized country is still experiencing the fastest growth of child obesity in the world alongside the United States. More than 28 percent of children between 5 and 9, and 38 percent of those between 10 and 19 are overweight or obese, according to the Mexican Social Security Institute.
Currently three-quarters of Mexico City’s 2,400 public schools do not have playgrounds or gyms. The Secretary of Health of the Federal District, Armando Ahued Ortega, launched an initiative with the objective of combating obesity, which is named the number one public health problem of the nation’s capital. One of the aspects of the project is to find out the height and weight of one million 100 thousand children in 2 thousand public schools in Mexico City, in order to get the “real picture” of the situation. Schools with a high number of children who have gained or not lost weight will face administrative sanctions. Furthermore, a confidential letter will be sent to parents’ home that informs them how overweight their children are as well as information about health centers and hospitals. Beginning this year, kindergarten and elementary schools banned soft drinks and junk food, and middle schools are only providing sugar-free drinks and low-calorie snacks. More information about the project is available at the website http://www.noalaobesidad.df.gob.mx/.
Tijuana is above the national average for child obesity, said the director of Municipal Health Services, Jorge Angel, who a few days ago started a preventative program against child obesity in municipal elementary schools. After today, nutrition classes will be taught in elementary schools.“It an epidemic that has afflicted us for a long time,” said Bórquez Pesqueira. Juana Laura Pérez Floriano of the Municipal Education System (SEM) pointed out that another objective of the program is to increase physical education classes in public schools, “currently only 15 minutes are taught in classes a week,” she said.
Obesity does not only afflict children. According to Mexico’s public health institute, seventy percent of Mexican adults are overweight or obese as well. “The earlier obesity shows up, the higher the risk the kid will become an obese adult and contract other diseases like diabetes, hypertension,” said Leticia Martinez, chief nutritionist for Mexico’s public health institute. “We see this as an emergency.”
“Inicia programa contra la obesidad infantil en el DF.” Televisa. 18 October, 2011.
Baja California to treat drug abuse as a health issue rather than just a crime
In an effort to better tend to the problem of drug abuse in Baja California, the state Attorney General is proposing that drug addiction be treated as a health problem rather than solely as a crime. In doing so, the state would implement drug courts, which already exist in California and Nuevo León. These courts would deal with people addicted to drugs or alcohol and have committed minor crimes. There are 2,300 drug courts in the United States, as well several in Europe and Chile. Alfredo Villalba, who works in drug courts in San Diego County, said that in California, studies show that drug courts save a minimum of $18 million a year.
“We want to take these models and present them as an alternative to the problem we have in Baja California. We want to stop criminalizing all crimes,” said state Attorney General Rommel Moreno at a forum in Tijuana last week. Mexico’s Congress ruled that prosecution of street-level drug dealing is to be handled at the state level beginning next year, an offense that is currently a federal crime. Moreno’s plan to create drug courts is in response to this mandate, which he says would first deal with adolescents. According to national health and criminal justice studies, Baja California has the most methamphetamine users in Mexico, and second most cocaine users.
Jesús Salazar, the director of mental health and addictions in Nuevo León, said that drug courts are effective in breaking the cycle of drugs and crime, and that drug courts decide if a convicted person should go to prison or to rehabilitation. Rehabilitation would be mean an 18-month treatment period managed by the State Health Department and supervised by a judge. If the convict does not finish rehab, he/she is sent to prison. “Some 80 to 90 per cent of those who go to a rehab center re-offend because they don’t finish the program. The drug court makes the addict finish his rehabilitation and that’s why it’s harder to relapse,” said Salazar. The Tijuana forum also included a group of middle school students from the city’s troubled east side who affirmed that there are few recreational opportunities in their neighborhood, making drug dealing and use difficult to avoid.
Millán, Omar. “Baja AG proposes using drug courts to fight crime.” San Diego Red. 3 October, 2011.
“PGJE busca rehabilitación de adictos primodelincuentes.” El Mexicano. 28 September, 2011.
Family of comatose immigrant cannot afford healthcare
Posted by amarie089 in Health, Immigration on September 29, 2011
A Phoenix woman, Evelyn Saenz-Cornelio, has been trying to get medical care for her husband, Jesus Armando Cornelio, who was in the process of becoming a legal resident when he suffered severe brain damage while playing soccer. Saez-Cornelio, 23, was born in Mexico but raised in Phoenix and is a U.S. citizen. She stated that her husband, also 23 and a construction worker, had an employment authorization card and a Social Security card from the U.S. government, and had an appointment that week for an interview to obtain a permanent resident card.
After injury, Cornelio was taken to the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. On Friday the hospital told his wife that his health care bill was $120,000 so far and that Arizona’s Medicaid program would not cover the costs. They told her that she would either have to take him to Mexico for treatment or disconnect him from life support. A spokeswoman for Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona’s Medicaid program, said that the federal law does not allow illegal immigrants to have health care coverage. Furthermore, even if Cornelio had obtained a permanent resident card, he needed to be a resident for five years in order to be covered. On Tuesday the hospital gave her a one-week extension, after which she doesn’t know what she will do. “I think the hospital is more interested in money than in his health,” said his wife.
Saez-Cornelio said that over the weekend her husband seemed to be having signs of recovery, including opening his eyes, yawning, and holding family members’ hands. She said, “I have to have faith that little by little, he’s going to get better and show the doctors and nurses that he wants to be here.” She said that her husband came to Phoenix in 1998 when he was ten years old, and the two met when they were in sixth grade. Cornelio qualified for a soccer scholarship at Phoenix College, but it turned out he was ineligible because of the 2006 Arizona immigration law that said undocumented immigrants cannot receive in-state tuition or scholarships.
Reyna Polanco, a volunteer for the Respect/Respecto group, said that Arizona hospitals have had several cases of sending patients to Mexico, especially undocumented immigrants, who do not have medical insurance. “This case is representative of the effects that the bad decisions of the state government are having on the budget cutbacks, the lack of values, the lack of ethics that we all must have,” she said. Representatives of Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, a non-profit hospital, said that they hope to come to an agreement with the family so that Cornelio can recover.
Baja California rules to keep anti-abortion law in place
After three days of discussion, Mexico’s Supreme Court rejected the argument that Baja California’s law prohibiting abortion is unconstitutional. The court needed eight votes to deem the law unconstitutional; however it only ended up with seven, while the other four voted to keep the existing law in place. Those who voted that it was unconstitutional held that the state legislation could not override principles already established in the Constitution, and that it was against women’s rights.
One of the decisive votes was that of Jorge Pardo Rebolledo, who joined the court this past February. He stated that the main theme of the debate was not the penalization of abortion, but the power of the state. He held that the right to life recognized in Baja California’s constitution did not conflict with mandates in the federal constitution.
Many of the majority voters expressed themselves strongly against the penalization of abortion. Justice Arturo Zaldivar stated, “Criminalizing a women, especially a poor woman, is not the solution, condemning her to a prison, to secrecy, to risk her health, her life, is profoundly unjust, immoral, and deeply unconstitutional. The Chief Justice, Juan Silva Meza, one of those in favor of overturning the law, sided with Luis Maria Aguilar that the state had overstepped its power. Tomorrow the court will analyze a similar amendment in the state of San Luis Potosi.
In total, 18 states have approved amendments to their laws to protect the right to life from conception.. Abortion has always been considered a crime in all of Mexico’s penal codes, except for the Federal District, where, since 2007, abortion is legal during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Watch video of protestors demonstrating
de la Luz Gonzalez, Maria. “Corte avala ley antiaborto en BC; pendiente SLP.” El Universal. 28 September, 2011.
Fuentes, Victor. “Rechaza Corte permitir el aborto en Baja California.” Terra. 28 September, 2011.
“Suprema Corte deja vigente ley antiaborto de Baja California.” Informador. 28 September, 2011.
Vega, Javier. “En BC seguirá penalizando el aborto.” Milenio. 28 September, 2011.
National Minority Donor Awareness Day approaches; Hispanic donors increase
Posted by corinabenson in Health on July 28, 2011
Photo Credit: Agencia EFE
Conceived of 15 years ago by then President Bill Clinton, National Minority Donor Awareness Day is observed on August 1. The purpose of the holiday is to not only honor minority organ donors, but encourage others to donate their organs. Thanks to campaigns in Spanish endorsing organ donation, Hispanic donors have increased in numbers in recent years. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, of every 60 donors in the state of Georgia, for example, 8 are Hispanic, up from 4 in 2006. Hispanics are more likely to donate an organ than any other ethnic group, with nearly 70 percent consenting to organ donation.
Of the 112,000 individuals awaiting an organ in the United States, about 19,000 are Hispanic. Carlos Castro of Life Link, an organization for Hispanic organ donors, the demand for organs still outweighs the supply, despite the increase in donors. According to Castro, the main reasons for which Latinos opt not to donate organs are lack of information and religious objections. Many Catholics might ask themselves if they will be reanimated after the final judgement if they are missing organs, says Castro, who insists that resurrection is spiritual, and not physical. Some might also believe that as organ donors, they will not be provided with life saving medical care should they need it.
“Aumentan los donantes hispanos de órganos, aunque no lo suficiente.” Agencia EFE. 8 April 2011.
“Hispanos salvan vidas después de la muerte.” San Diego Red. 28 July 2011.
Dangerous food poisoning in border region
Posted by daniellerfarias in Health on July 25, 2011
24 cases of Guillan-Barre syndrome, a rare and dangerous illness that can cause nerve damage and even paralysis have been diagnosed among both Mexican and American citizens living in the Yuma County, Arizona and Sonora, Mexico areas. The Guillan-Barre Syndrome (GBS) outbreaks, doctors say, were likely caused by food poisoning. The majority of the GBS-diagnosed victims have been between the ages of 40 and 70 and include 17 Mexicans and 7 Americans. Many of the victims have lost all motor control and function of their legs and some are also experiencing paralysis in their upper bodies. GBS is a result of infections of Campylobacter bacteria which can be caused by eating undercooked or raw poultry or meat, unpasteurized milk, or contaminated water. It can also be spread by animals such as dogs and cats or cattle. GBS is extremely rare and typically affects only 1 in 100,000 Americans. Recovery processes are often long and painful and in some cases the nerve damage caused by GBS can be permanent.
The US and Mexico are currently conducting a bi-national investigation. Any new cases of GBS reported will be shared and doctors on both sides of the border will remain in contact over any new developments or treatment options regarding the illness. An exact cause for the illness has yet to be identified, but cases of Campylobacter bacteria outbreaks are also being reported in Wyoming.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43860343/ns/health-food_safety/
http://www.kold.com/story/15144694/outbreak-of-rare-disease-along-arizona-border
