Hispanic Health Initiatives Summit hailed as success

More than 200 people attended the Health Science Center's first Hispanic Health Initiatives Summit held Oct. 23 and 24 in the auditorium. Faculty and staff from the UTHSC and representatives from federal agencies across the nation participated as speakers.

"We are thrilled with the outcome of the summit," said Dr. Martha Medrano, associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Medical Hispanic Center of Excellence. "The summit served as a forum to inform our faculty and administration about what it means to be a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and a Hispanic Serving Health Professions School. It also provided faculty and administration from the Health Science Center and from other HSIs the opportunity to learn about research funds available to them because of their designation."

Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, Health Science Center president, addressed the conference and praised those in attendance for their efforts to work together to reduce health disparities. "It is important that the Health Science Center reflects the population of this state," Dr. Cigarroa said. "Conferences such as this help us to reach our goal of training the next generation of health care professionals who will meet the needs of this region."

Because the number of under-represented minority students enrolled in the School of Nursing and the School of Allied Health Sciences at the Health Science Center exceed 25 percent of all enrolled undergraduates, the UTHSC is recognized as one of 203 Hispanic Serving Institutions in the United States. Ten of those HSIs are located in San Antonio. The UTHSC also is recognized as a Hispanic Serving Health Professions School.

Dr. Medrano, who co-chaired the event with Dr. Deborah Greene, vice president for academic administration, said plans are in place for future summits to be held on campus. "This is a very exciting time for our Health Science Center," she said. "Dr. Cigarroa is leading us into a new era, and the Hispanic Health Initiatives Summit provided and will continue to provide much of the direction."