Last Tuesday, June 3, WHYY hosted an event at the Esperanza Arts Center to raise awareness about diabetes and other health conditions affecting the Latino community. Attendees received free blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, as well as connections to local health resources.

During the event, experts like Dr. José Torradas, co-founder of Médicos Unidos, provided guidance on prevention and care. “Patients need to be engaged in their treatment process. Many times, they face decisions like whether to pay the electric bill or buy food first, and that affects their ability to take care of their health,” said Torradas.

“Taking care of yourself is key”: Photo Rodríguez shares his experience with diabetes

The musician and community leader began to take care of his health after a dizzy spell that led him to the doctor, where he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a year ago.
“Now I must take a pill every day. This changed my life. I’m managing it, but I gave up on donuts, sodas, and cookies. I tell people to go to the doctor, to take care of themselves, and to get tested, because health is the most important thing.”

Every day there are more cases, and financial assistance is available, but people need to get informed, so they don’t put their health at risk. That’s why at Impacto, we made it a priority to talk to Nilsa Graciani—interim dean of Esperanza College, STEM principal director at Esperanza, director of Esperanza STEM College, and medical assistant—who helps develop this diabetes project and put the issue in perspective:

“Diabetes affects the Hispanic population in North Philadelphia at higher rates than other groups. In 2021, Esperanza was selected as one of the original partner organizations in the ‘Cities Changing Diabetes Philadelphia’ program.”

The intergenerational program Champions of Hope: Latinos Preventing Diabetes has been working on diabetes education and prevention, offering several resources: a Spanish-language cohort of the Diabetes Prevention Program, family nutrition classes in Spanish, community health fairs, yoga and Zumba classes, summer internships for youth where they learned about healthy lifestyles, prepared educational materials to share with the community, created the Diabuddy app, ran an active youth group year-round to continue this work, and created a community garden at 3rd and Bristol.

The expert, who noted she has written several reports on diabetes prevention for Impacto, emphasized that another important focus of the program is the intentional development of Latino professionals in the health sector. This includes exposing high school students to health science careers through the Health Sciences Minorities Symposium, as well as creating partnerships with Latino health professional organizations such as SILAMP, to provide mentorship to our students.

Cities Changing Diabetes is now Cities for Better Health, expanding its focus to other chronic diseases. The work to prevent diabetes in our community must continue. Events like WHYY’s “Combatiendo el azúcar: luchando contra la diabetes juntos” provide the education our community needs and highlight the actions we can take together. We must all get involved, learn about healthy habits, and act together as a family and community to achieve a healthier life.

Fuente: WHYY / Esperanza/ Impacto

The complete interview on Dr. Torradas is available www.impactomedia.com