Forum is First in a Series Exploring Latino Issues

The health care challenges facing Chicago-area Latinos and the far-reaching impact of those challenges will be discussed at a public policy forum from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at DePaul University’s John R. Cortelyou Commons, 2324 N. Fremont St., Chicago.

Titled “Public Health in the Mexican Community,” the forum will feature Dr. Enrique Martinez, chief medical officer of Ambulatory and Community Health Services for the Cook County Bureau of Health Services; Dr. Carolyn Lopez, former chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Stroger Hospital and current president of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago; and Dr. Luis Munoz, a member of the Illinois Hispanic Physician Association and founding board member of Alivio Medical Center, which is co-sponsoring the event.

Martinez, whose agency serves the Chicago area’s Latino community, of which 80 percent are Mexican, will discuss the impact of recent Cook County budget cuts on services to Latino patients. Lopez will speak about the importance of data collection to understanding public health needs and trends and how it is a particular problem for the Mexican population, and the importance of working with patients in a culturally complete manner. Munoz will discuss metabolic syndrome, a precursor to diabetes, which disproportionately affects Puerto Ricans and Mexicans.

Latinos face myriad health care-related problems and obstacles, from a lack of insurance to a shortage of Spanish-speaking health care workers to inferior health care. These conditions lead to the proliferation of life-threatening but preventable diseases, such as diabetes and tuberculosis, and the spread of drug-resistant fatal infections.

“These are critical problems and DePaul seeks to create awareness of Latino health issues by informing the community about available resources,” said Rafaela Weffer, associate vice president for faculty development and research at DePaul University.

Although Latinos are 26 percent of Chicago’s population under age 65, they are 43 percent of the city’s uninsured. At 36.6 percent of the population, African-Americans make up 32 percent of the uninsured; whites are 22 percent of the uninsured and 33.4 percent of the population, according to a report compiled by the Washington, D.C.-based Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The forum will conclude with a public discussion on possible public policy solutions to the health care problems facing Latinos. The forum is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Lorraine Mora-Chavez at (312) 362-6672 or lmora1@depaul.edu.