California Health Forum Series Focuses on Hispanic Health

Policy makers in California's Central Valley will convene on May 17 and 18 to discuss ways to improve health care for area Hispanics, the Fresno Bee reports. The meeting is the second held this year by the California Policy Institutes on Health and is sponsored by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. NALEO hopes to hold nine such community-based meetings over the next three years, with the ultimate goal of "develop[ing] a health agenda for Hispanics" in the state, according to Ernesto Saldana, deputy director of constituency services for NALEO. The local meetings, like the one this week in Fresno, will focus on "health disparities" experienced by Hispanics. According to Carmen Mendoza, an evaluation analyst for the Fresno County Children and Family Commission, the high prevalence of diabetes among Hispanics is an example of why health care for that population needs to be addressed statewide. The California Policy Institutes on Health were developed by NALEO with grants from the California Endowment and the California Wellness Foundation to give Hispanics a chance to be "advocates for a health care agenda" (Anderson, Fresno Bee, 5/16).