SAN DIEGO — Congressman Mike Levin and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced on Friday a new health equity project designed to help address health disparities in the Latino community.
The program is called Bridges to Health. It aims to bring healthcare resources to families at Foothill Oak and Maryland Elementary School.
National Latino Research Center said they specifically chose those two schools in Vista. That’s because students are predominantly low-income Latino families who don't have access to or don't know where to apply to get access to medical care.
“So, we have a lot of Latino families in our region fairly underserved and sort of ignored in our local communities and they have a lot of health care needs and a lot of health care access needs,” Konane Martínez said, Director of the National Latino Research Center at Cal State San Marcos.
Congressmen Levin who oversees this district as well as the U.S. Department of Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the additional $330,000 in funding.
Here is how it would work:
A Bridges2Health community health advocate from the Vista Community Clinic will provide support at the two schools. It will also plan health events for the community.
They’ll assist minority families by essentially establishing a medical home where they can connect them with healthcare resources and increase enrollment with Medicaid and SNAP programs.
This comes during the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, bringing even more attention to the disparities in Latino health.