Tags » prevention
The Impact of Diabetes on Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The Impact of Diabetes on Racial/Ethnic Minorities Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease that disproportionately affects racial and economically disadvantaged minority groups in America. Nearly a third of all Americans are at risk – over 100 million Americans today have some form of glucose (sugar) intolerance: Diabetes Mellitus (about 25 million) or Prediabetes (several estimates […]
MoreTeen Pregnancy Prevention
By Hernan Delgado, MD, Lead Pediatrician and Nicole Mitton, Grants and Communications Specialist Teen pregnancy has serious consequences. In the US, 33% of girls and 19% of boys drop out of high school because of teen parenthood. In Massachusetts, approximately 2,600 high school students drop out of school each year because of teen parenthood. That […]
MoreSTD Awareness
By Tracy McCallum, Youth Intervention Counselor, Peer Advocate/HIV Services In the spirit of STD Awareness Month, Whittier Street Health Center encourages our patients and community residents to consider their sexual health. Having good sexual health means feeling physically and emotionally safe and comfortable with your sexual life. It’s also important in preventing STDs like chlamydia, […]
MoreMinority Health
By Mothusi Chilume, MD and Nicole Mitton, Grants and Communications Specialist April is National Minority Health Month, where we focus on raising public awareness about the health care disparities that continue to affect minorities. Minority Health Month is also a time to recognize the efforts to advance health equity. Health equity means that everyone deserves the […]
MorePatient Safety
By Adeola Ogungbadero, VP of Clinical Operations and Nicole Mitton, Grants and Communications Specialist The Institute of Medicine in its epic 1999 report “To err is human” estimates that up to 98,000 patients die annually in hospitals due to medical errors. In 2013, a new study by Dr. John T. James for the Journal of Patient […]
MoreTaking Action for a Healthy Heart
By Luis Velez, MD and Nicole Mitton We celebrate Valentine’s Day in February, which also happens to be American Heart Month. This is a great time to begin focusing on keeping our hearts healthy, and to make changes in our lifestyles to prevent heart disease—the leading cause of death in the US. Many ethnic minority populations […]
MoreCelebrating World AIDS Day
By Nicole Mitton, Grant Writers and Communications Specialist HIV/AIDS is a global public health concern, with an estimated 35 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), approximately 1.2 million people in the United States live with HIV, and 14% don’t know they have the virus. Every […]
MoreImmunization: Power to Protect
August is National Immunization Awareness Month. This month, health centers like Whittier Street Health Center will highlight the importance of immunizations to public health. Vaccines protect against serious, and sometimes deadly, diseases—such as the flu, measles, meningitis, hepatitis, and others. Here in Massachusetts, residents benefit from a universal childhood vaccine program and some of the […]
MoreHepatitis C
By Mothusi Chilume, MD Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect the liver and eventually cause scarring of the liver if not treated. The virus is spread through blood so people who have shared needles or have had blood transfusions in the past are at high risk for having the infection and should be […]
MoreNational Safety Month: Stop Slips, Trips, and Falls
By Osagie Ebekozien, MPH, Manager of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement, and Tamika Santos, Clinical Case Manager June is National Safety Month, and the National Safety Council encourages us to consider the many safety issues that we face in our everyday lives. This year, the National Safety Month theme is “Safety: It takes all of us,” […]
More