Hispanic Heritage Month

CBD College Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month!

National Hispanic Heritage Month is the period from September 15 to October 15 in the United States, when people recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the group’s heritage and culture.  Read below and discover four AMAZING Hispanic and Latino Americans and their contributions to the healthcare field.

 

DR. HELEN RODRIGUEZ- TRIAS 

Born: 1929

Died: 2001

Origin:  Puerto Rico

Dr. Helen Rodriguez Trías, was a Pediatrician, Educator, Activist, and the First Latina President of the American Health Association.  Dr. Trias later went on to graduate from medical school at Universidad de Puerto Rico with highest honors.

Her accomplishments include founding the first center for newborn children in Puerto Rico and serving as Director of Pediatrics at Lincoln Hospital in South Bronx, NY. In addition, Dr. Trias went on to lead the New York City Department of Health Mental Hygiene. She also helped “bring national attention to the devastation caused by HIV and AIDS among inner-city mothers and children. In 1993, the American Public Health Association finally elected her their first Latina president.

 

 

 

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HORTENSIA AMARO

Born: ?

Origin:  Cuba

Amaro has used her research to help create preventative models and treatment methods for Latinas in these areas of healthcare and has also served on committees for the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She has done extensive work in the area of public health, creating and implementing treatment programs such as Entre Familia, which treats individuals with co-occurring mental health and addiction problems.  They also provide a treatment program for women with various mental health issues.

Amaro’s mission remains her use of research to create gender-specific community programs for Latinos.

 

 

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MARIO MOLINA

Born: : 1943

Origin:  Mexico

Mexican-born chemist Mario Molina won a Nobel Prize in 1995 for “his research on how man-made compounds affect the ozone layer.” Biography.com says he became interested in science at a young age, creating a chemistry laboratory inside a bathroom in his home.

He later moved from Mexico to the USA in 1968 to work on an advanced degree in physical chemistry from the University of California-Berkeley. Next, he taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California-San Diego.

Mr. Molina received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama on November 20, 2013

 

 

 

 

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RAUL RUIZ

Born:  1972

Origin:  Mexico

Initially a graduate of Harvard University, Ruiz spent time working abroad in Mexico, El Salvador, and Serbia before taking a job as an emergency physician at a nonprofit hospital in the Coachella Valley.

Raul Ruiz is known for his Coachella Valley Healthcare Initiative in 2010, which was designed to improve healthcare access and also general wellness for the residents living in the Coachella Valley.  “We – and I don’t mean only Latinos – all the residents in the United States, can achieve excellence and prosperity with personal responsibility as long as we work hard, play by the rules and have discipline,”