AHHE and NHCCH launch social media campaign

The Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives (www.AHHE.org) and the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Health (www.NHCCH.com) today announced the launching of their social media campaign, which will partner Hispanic media, the country's leading Hispanic professional health associations and Hispanic consumers. The launching of the partnership coincides with the appointment of Mirian Zavala, RN, MS, Doctoral Candidate, as the chair of AHHE's Policy Committee. The social media campaign launch and Ms. Zavala will be introduced at a reception, "Health Care Reform: Communicating Policy with Hispanic Media," on Monday, November 23, 2009, 6:00-8:00pm, at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, 16th floor Sky lobby.

In attendance, and partnering with AHHE and the NHCCH on this initiative, will be the leading national Hispanic health association presidents, including George A. Zeppenfeldt-Cestero, President, Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives; Suzanne Colin, PhD, President, the Association of Hispanic Mental Health Professionals; Miguel Hernandez, MD, President, the Dominican Medical Association; Norma Martinez Rogers, PhD, RN, FAAN, President, National Association of Hispanic Nurses; Samuel Arce, MD, President, Spanish American Medical Dental Society of NY, Inc., and Luis A. Vazquez, Chairman, National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Health. The Honorable Joel Rivera, Chairman of the Health Committee for the NYC Council and other elected officials, will give remarks during the event.

George A. Zeppenfeldt-Cestero, President of AHHE, will also be working closely with the national Hispanic professional membership associations to establish a Roundtable of Hispanic Health Association Presidents to insure a unified voice on health issues impacting our community and providing authoritative information to both the media and consumers.

According to Marcelo Rodriguez, President of Inlanet, a leading Hispanic Internet Marketing agency based in New York, "It is of utmost importance that a prominent Hispanic association such as AHHE starts an initiative targeting a community that is growing so fast on the internet - almost 23 million and counting - and by definition is social. AHHE will become a major Hispanic resource on the internet by establishing its presence online where Hispanics frequently turn to for authoritative health resources. AHHE's presence will be displayed on the main social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube."

Health Disparities Tax American Economy. According to researchers commissioned by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the combined costs of health inequalities and premature death in the nation cost $1.24 trillion between 2003 and 2006. Patients from racial and ethnic minority communities, who bear a disproportionate share of our nation's health problems, spent nearly $230 billion in excess medical care costs. http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_13067.shtml

As one of the least likely demographic groups to have insurance, Hispanics might be expected to have high hopes for the current reform efforts. In the nearly two dozen congressional districts with a Hispanic majority, the number of people with health insurance is 16 percentage points below the national average, according to a NationalJournal.com analysis. Hispanics accounted for 15 percent of the nation's population in 2007, but 32 percent of the nation's uninsured.