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“I’ll Be There.” - Edgar Santa Cruz Like so many, who have heard the news of Edgar Santa Cruz’s passing, we too are heartbroken. Edgar was an active member of the Latino Health Coalition convened here at Common Ground Health. While he was a man of few words, his actions sp...

The African American Health Coalition continues to sound the alarm about the disproportionately high rates of death for African American women from breast cancer.

Per the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) are respectful of and responsive to the health beliefs, practices and needs of diverse patients. Delivering care in this way is not only a good idea, it promotes better health for more people.

It has been well-documented that African Americans fare worse than their white counterparts across various health indicators such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular heart disease, hypertension, sexually transmitted diseases and obesity.

Medicaid has made it possible for our most vulnerable populations to receive medical care. As part of the new AHCA legislation, there would be drastic changes to Medicaid that would be devastating to the most vulnerable people of New York state and here in Monroe County.

According to the 2012 Monroe County Department of Health’s Adolescent Health Report Card, 57% of high school students in the city of Rochester reported ever engaging in sexual activity.

When it comes to your health, where you live matters.

The African American Health Coalition encourages women to get screened for breast cancer.

For African American communities in particular, tobacco-use rates are exceptionally disturbing, as 19.6 percent identify as regular tobacco users in Monroe County, compared to 10.6 percent of whites. Along with increased cancer risk, there is also an increased risk for developing heart disease, or stroke.

HIV/AIDS is not the death sentence it once used to be. With help from community activists, researchers and scientists, HIV is now labeled a livable, manageable, chronic blood condition.

Our homes should be a safe place to live, and raise a family. But what happens when our own homes make us sick, or poison us?

Our clergy must use their power to lift up their congregations to overcome the issues that plague our neighborhoods.

African Americans, who are most likely to be incarcerated, often have disproportionately high rates of many chronic and infectious diseases.

health literacy is defined as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”

There is growing evidence showing that “implicit bias” among health care professionals can lead to unequal treatment of patients based on race. This unequal treatment can result in care decisions with poor outcomes.

The DSRIP program in our region requires safety net providers to collaborate around the implementation of 11 innovative projects that seek to improve the health care system and better coordinate care. If done successfully, the region could potentially earn up to $565M to reinvest in health care.

Maybe you have seen signs of an opioid addiction: empty prescription bottles, needle marks on an arm, or money gone missing and unexplained.

Families are gathering for the holidays. People are seeing each other for the first time in possibly a long time. But something just doesn’t seem quite right with one family member.

Are you comfortable telling your provider if a treatment isn’t working? Are you willing to give yourself a shot to manage a disease? Do you spend more time talking at your medical appointments than your doctor?

If your kids are anything like mine, they’ve started the countdown to the first day of summer vacation, when they can forget about the days of homework and testing. But research shows that for most kids, summer break leads to summer learning loss and, for some, summer weight gain.