UNMC and the College of Medicine DEI Office celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month, marked from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, with several events.
Armando De Alba, MD, assistant dean for DEI student programs in the UNMC College of Medicine, said the goal of the event was to honor and celebrate Latino and Hispanic students, as well as other members of the medical center community.
Dr. De Alba, who also is a founding past chair of the Nebraska chapter of the National Hispanic Medical Association, noted that the month also contains the annual independence day celebration for countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chile and Belize.
“In that sense, it is a time to celebrate the diversity within the Latino/Hispanic community itself,” he said.
It’s also a time, he said, to raise awareness and work to build the percentage of Hispanic and Latino physicians. One UNMC’s major activities during Hispanic Heritage Month was the visit of Carlos Del Río, MD, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and interim dean of the Emory School of Medicine and Grady Health System.
Dr. Del Río’s Omaha visit, which was sponsored by the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases, the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) Nebraska Chapter and NHMA National, was an opportunity to showcase an inspiring role model, Dr. De Alba said.
“We had several activities with Dr. Del Rio, including a breakfast at which we hosted high school students, UNMC pathway program students, medical students and UNMC faculty and staff,” Dr. De Alba said. “It was a chance for this Latino leader to share a message of inspiration and encouragement, to inspire our students to continue with their journey and to remind practitioners that we are in medicine and the health professions to protect and improve the health of all the communities we serve and beyond.”
In addition to the breakfast, hosted by the Nebraska HMA, Dr. Del Río spoke at an infectious diseases’ grand rounds on the topic of “The Healthcare Needs of Migrants: The Intersection of Two Broken Systems.”
Juan Santamaria, MD, current chair of NE NHMA, called the presentation excellent.
“It was enlightening for many attendees, myself included,” Dr. Santamaria said. The presentation discussed the health care needs of the migrant population – most of whom, Dr. Del Rio noted, should more accurately be called refugees or asylum seekers.
These needs most often are related to workplace injury and trauma and occur in an under- or uninsured, underserved population. Dr. Del Rio also drew attention to the disproportionate effects of COVID on the Hispanic/Latino population, in part driven by workplace realities, such as the relative inability of large portions of this population to work from home.
“It was all very interesting and thought provoking, and a lot was new to me – the data on the health care needs, the data on workplace injuries and deaths,” Dr. Santamaria said.
Finally, on Oct. 7, UNMC students and faculty members of the NHMA and the Latino Medical Student Association participated in the Binational Week Health Fair, held at Metropolitan Community College. Organized by the Mexican consulate in Omaha and OneWorld Community Health Centers, the annual event offered a series of free screenings, tests and health information to the Spanish-speaking community.
UNMC students and faculty have historically taken part in the event.
“It puts us in a personal care setting with the underinsured, the uninsured, those who speak only Spanish,” Dr. Santamaria said. “In addition to helping these patients, it is a learning experience for everyone. You see the comforts and privileges we enjoy that many in the community do not.”
Hispanic Heritage Month ends on Oct. 15.