The College of Education, in partnership with the Hispanic Health Coalition, hosted the Latino Health Summit 2015: Preventive and Integrated Approaches to Health Care on Friday, February 27, 2015. This day-long conference discussed and strategized on issues impacting the health of the Latino community.

The Summit brought together experts in the fields of health, mental health, healthcare policy makers, researchers and community based organizations to discuss the major health challenges facing the Latino population of Houston. Using the strengths of the community, these experts prioritized and explored strategies to address these challenges with the goal of improving the overall health of the Latino community.

The event’s keynote speaker was Dr. Elena Rios, President and CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association. Dr. Rios discussed national health priorities for Latinos. Dr. Rios, a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, serves on the commission to End Health Disparities, The Campaign Against Obesity, Nurse Family Partnership and the National Quality Forum’s National Priorities Partnerships Steering Committee. 

Other speakers included Dr. Steven Klinberg, Professor and Co-Director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute; Dr. Norma Olvera, Director of the Latino Health Disparities Lab at the UH College of Education; Angelina Esparza, Director of Health Equity at the American Cancer Society, Inc.; Carol Flores, Manager of Disaster Preparedness and Response at the Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston and Dr. Maria Quitero, Assistant Deputy Director of Provider Services for the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Division at The Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County. Panelists included Elena M. Marks, President and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation and Amanda Cloud, Executive Director of the Simmons Foundation.

The Summit was sponsored by Hispanic Health Coalition, UH College of Education, BOUNCE, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, City of Houston Health Department, Community Health Choice, Outreach Resources and Hope Clinic.

Hispanic Health Coalition • 713.666.5644 • hhc@hispanic-health.org