The PlazAmericas shopping mall was the site of a health fair Sunday afternoon that provided free services for low-income families.
Arte Publico Press wellness program ¡Salud, Familia! distributed copies of the children’s book “I Kick the Ball / Pateo el balon” by Gwendolyn Zepeda, to the first 5,000 children to come up to their booth at the fair.
The book is intended to combat childhood obesity and related illnesses.
“Our plan is to have four health-related children’s books published this year,” Program Coordinator for Salud Familia Katherine Rodriguez said. “We will be working with our nationwide partners to distribute these to Latino communities across the country.”
Children At Risk, a non-profit group that focuses on the health and safety of children, hosted the fourth annual Nuestra Familia, Nuestra Salud Latino Children’s Health fair in conjunction with The Spanish-language network Univision.
An estimated 5,000 people from the Hispanic community attended the fair to receive free health and dental screenings for children, Children’s Medicaid Insurance Program (CHIP) registration assistance and educational and nutritional information from over 60 organizations.
“The goal here is for people to come out to the event and to first find a medical home,” Children At Risk Assistant Director of Public Policy Tanya Makany-Rivera said. “We want kids to get vaccinated along with other screenings like vision, dental, glucose and cholesterol because these are things that are affecting our community.”
A report released by the US Census Bureau found that 46.3 million Americans are without health insurance. CHIP offers low-cost health coverage to working parents who cannot afford coverage through their employers.
According to the Texas Medical Association, 64 percent of Hispanics in the state are more likely to lack health insurance, and areas with the highest rates of the uninsured are predominantly Hispanic.
CHIP outreach worker Alma Gutierrez said there is a need for this within the Hispanic community.
“They want their kids covered, they want their kids to stay healthy and they look for us,” Gutierrez said.
Arte Publico Press is the largest publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by Hispanic authors.
For more information on the press, visit www.latinoteca.com/arte-publico-press.
For more information about Children At Risk, visit www.childrenatrisk.org.
I just heard it on the radio that “Wise Health Insurance” can offer health insurance for just $1 a day any one aware of this ? have anyone purchased insurance through them. I did search for them and found them online.
When my husband and I planned for an early retirement we were both in our 50's. Not only were we retiring, but we were moving to Nashville, TN. Since we resigned from our jobs, we knew we would have to buy health insurance and dental insurance in Tennessee. We purchased a PPO family plan, for just my husband and me, through Wise Health Insurance. We paid for the family plan ourselves, initially, the cost was a little less than $400 a month for both of us. Our co-pay was very reasonable at $25 each per office visit.