An upcoming production by Oscar-nominated moviemaker Moctesuma Esparza, who brought such acclaimed films as "Selena" and "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" to the screen, might save millions of lives. Esparza is joining with the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) to combat obesity, diabetes and other health disparities.
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) March 22, 2006 -- An upcoming production by Oscar-nominated moviemaker Moctesuma Esparza, who brought such acclaimed films as "Selena" and "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" to the screen, might save millions of lives. Esparza is joining with the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) to combat obesity, diabetes and other health disparities.
The partnership with Esparza will be announced at NHMA's 10th annual conference, "Somos Unidos: United to Eliminate Health Disparities for Hispanics." The conference will be March 23-26 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Rd. NW in Washington, DC. A press conference will be held at 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 24, in the hotel's Hoover Room.
Esparza -- whose films include "Gods and Generals," "The Milagro Beanfield War," "The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca," "Gettysburg" and "Rough Riders" -- is the keynote speaker at NHMA's conference dinner Saturday, March 25. NHMA will have a private screening at the conference at 7:30 p.m. March 23, of his latest movie -- "Walkout," an HBO Films drama based on the East Los Angeles student protests of 1968.
Esparza produced "Walkout" with "Battlestar Galactica" actor Edward James Olmos, who also directed the movie. "Walkout" stars Alexa Vega of the "Spy Kids" movies and Michael Peña of "The Shield" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
"NHMA is thrilled that such an acclaimed filmmaker, producer and champion of Latino rights is helping to shine a spotlight on these growing problems and working with us to help educate Hispanics and change the landscape of the community's health in our country," said Dr. Elena Rios, president of NHMA, a nonprofit group representing 35,000 Latino doctors in the U.S.
Esparza, whose honors include an Emmy Award, is also forming Maya Cinemas, a new chain of theaters in primarily English-speaking Latino markets, including Salinas, CA, where the first of eight planned multiplexes opened last year. Maya Cinemas will team with NHMA to distribute health education materials to Latino moviegoers via public service announcements and movie trailers.
In addition to the private screening of "Walkout," on Thursday at 6 p.m., the conference will feature John Quiñones, a co-anchor of ABC's "Primetime" and correspondent for "20/20." Quiñones ' recent work includes a "Primetime" report in which he went undercover to reveal how clinics were performing unnecessary surgical procedures as part of a nationwide insurance scam. Quiñones won six Emmy Awards for his "PrimeTime Live," "Burning Questions" and "20/20" work. He was awarded an Emmy for his coverage of the Congo's virgin rainforest, which also won the Ark Trust Wildlife Award.
Lifetime Television Network will receive the NHMA Leadership Award for Media for its work in highlighting the plight of women's health issues.
In its efforts to combat health disparities, NHMA will announce an initiative with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health (OMH) to develop leadership training, education and outreach programs to improve Hispanic health.
"Everybody talks about health disparities, an issue we are addressing by developing a targeted framework to turnaround staggering obesity and diabetes rates among Hispanics," Rios said.
Speakers at NHMA's conference include Dr. Garth N. Graham, deputy assistant secretary for minority health at HHS; Mark McClellan, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Baltimore; and Dr. Ciro Sumaya, former deputy assistant secretary of the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and currently dean of the Texas A&M University's School of Rural Public Health. "Increasing workforce diversity is a matter of improving quality and culturally competent care that can ultimately reduce health disparities in our nation," Graham said.
Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely to get diabetes as non-Hispanic whites and have a 40 percent higher death rate related to the disease. Their girth is also growing. Hispanics ages 20-74 are more overweight than non-Hispanic whites - 11 percent higher in males; 26 percent higher in females - and are more obese - 7 percent higher in males; 32 percent higher in females.
Rios said the initiative's goals include recruiting Latinos for senior-level positions at HHS and developing a national leadership training program for Hispanic doctors and public health professionals in conjunction with NHMA's National Hispanic Health Foundation. The foundation is affiliated with New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
The two-year initiative also calls for a national education campaign on diabetes and obesity in conjunction with NHMA's medical societies in New York, Texas and California. "We want to work with our doctors, schools and elected officials in these states so they can be responsive to cultural competency and language and other issues that affect Hispanic health," Rios said.
NHMA is developing a national advisory panel with English and Spanish TV, radio and magazines to combat obesity and diabetes. "We want to thank and support the many doctors who are helping to turn the tide against obesity and diabetes," Rios said.
At the conference, NHMA also will announce a new partnership with Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, the largest private, comprehensive historically black institution for educating health professionals and scientists in the U.S. "We are excited to be partnering with Meharry Medical College, and President John Maupin, as we work together to eliminate health care disparities in our communities," Rios said. Maupin will speak at the conference Friday, March 24.
Established in 1994 in Washington, DC, NHMA is a nonprofit association that represents licensed Hispanic physicians in the U.S. in its mission to improve health care for Hispanics and the underserved. For more information, visit www.nhmamd.org.
# # #
|
