Archive
Focusing on South Carolina
November 2010
Puentes in South Carolina: Building Bridges Between Latino Communities and Health Care Systems
A new program developed by PASOs, a program of the South Carolina Public Health Institute will be featured in a oral presentation at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting Tuesday, November 9, 2010: 4:30 PM.
Presenters are:
Deborah Billings, PhD , Health Promotion, Education and Behavior/ Women's and Gender Studies, University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, SC
Julie Smithwick-Leone, LMSW , South Carolina Public Health Institute, PASOs Program, Columbia, SC
Margarita Franco , South Carolina Public Health Institute, PASOs Program, Columbia, SC
Further information may be found here.
Why is this a public health priority?
South Carolina is home to one of the fastest-growing new Latino populations in the nation. This recently-settled population faces formidable barriers in accessing quality health care.
What is the role of SCPHI in addressing this priority?
The Puentes Project, initiated in 2010, builds on the successful PASOs (Perinatal Awareness for Successful Outcomes) program housed at SCPHI to address a range of reproductive health needs of Latinos in the greater-Columbia, SC area. The Puentes Project is fostering new grassroots leadership among Latino immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, and working alongside these leaders to build lasting partnerships between their communities and health care service providers. The project builds on the knowledge and practices that Latino immigrants bring with them to South Carolina that tend to keep them healthy during their first years of residence while, at the same time, works to diminish the impact of barriers to health, including language, fear, and immigration status.
Latino and Latina community residents are being trained as Community Ambassadors, who play multiple roles in Puentes. They serve as community-based health educators who engage their peers in understanding their reproductive health and how to navigate health systems to gain access to the resources that they need. They also serve as liaisons between their communities and health care services to engage in problem-solving and solution development. Puentes is an innovative approach to developing grassroots community leadership, engaging leaders in developing solutions to issues of access, meeting the reproductive health care needs of Latina and Latino community members, and ultimately fostering lasting, sustainable social change.
- October 2010 | Youth HIV/AIDS Prevention
- September 2010 | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Local Foundations Support Puentes (Bridges) Latino Health Program
- August 2010 | Health Care Legislation Implementation
- July 2010 | A Glimpse of Health Care Reform: Coverage, Prevention, and Cost
- June 2010 | Celebrating Student Achievement
- May 2010 | Preterm Births
- April 2010 | Health Information Technology for Rural Hospitals
- March 2010 | Allendale County
- February 2010 | County Health Rankings
- January 2010 | Insitute for HIV Prevention Leadership
- 2009 Focusing on South Carolina Articles
Key Events
September 2010
SCPHI, in collaboration with SC Health Care Voices, begins the process of convening stakeholders of implementation of the Affordable Care Act in SC.
April 2010
SCPHI recieves funding from the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina to formulate a Legislative Health Policy Certificate program.
January 2010
SCPHI Director elected chair of Eat Smart Move More South Carolina Board.
Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership affiliates with SCPHI.
December 2009
SCPHI selected to receive a capacity-building grant funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
October 2009
SCPHI participates in the White House Office of National AIDS Policy SC Town Hall.
April 2009
SCPHI holds first policy forum.
March 2009
SCPHI achieves full membership status in the National Network of Public Health Institutes.
February 2009
SCPHI launches website and formalizes communication planning.
January 2009
Inaugural SCPHI advisory board established.
December 2008
SCPHI achieves provisional membership status in the National Network of Public Health Institutes.
October 2008
Mr. Doug Bryant, former commissioner of DHEC, joins SCPHI as key advisor and legislative liaison.
August 2008
Final strategic plan approved by SCPHI steering committee.
July 2008
SCPHI receives three-year grant from The Duke Endowment for programmatic and infrastructure support.
April 2008
Strategic planning process completed following statewide focus groups and reconvening of ad hoc advisory group.
September 2007
Formal strategic planning process begins with convening of ad hoc advisory group.
August 2007
Dr. Donna Richter named founding executive director of SCPHI.
April 2007
South Carolina selected for Fostering Emerging Institutes Program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.