Over 800 Latinos attend the Día de la Mujer Latina health fiesta at Magnolia Multiservice Center
October 27, 2012 — Over 800 Latinos attended the Día de la Mujer Latina health fiesta at Magnolia Multiservice Center and received much needed medical screenings for cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and HIV. These services are usually unattainable in Houston's increasing vulnerable Latino population due to fear and mistrust. Día de la Mujer Latina (DML) health fiesta's success is due, in part, to its cadre of Promotores and Community Health Workers, our clinical partners such as Methodist Cancer Center, (a Center of Excellence that truly understands its community, their concerns, their barriers and their need for culturally specific health education) and Texas Children's Hospital Women's Pavilion. The charitable donation by the key sponsor, Susan's Rally made it possible for 346 poor/ uninsured women to receive breast/cervical cancer screening as well as an additional 202 who received breast screenings only. There are over 80 women who are now in need of patient navigation, another service by this organization's Promotores Network. Read more.
Venus Ginés and Dia de la Mujer Latina Featured on Univison Houston
October 24, 2012 — View video in Spanish here.
Hispanic Heritage Month: Venus Ginés' 'Fiestas' Saving Lives of Latinas
October 10, 2012 — While her notoriety may be under the radar, Ginés has done some of the most important work in the Latino community. Although Gines doesn’t know the exact number of lives she’s saved with her “Health Fiestas,”over 80,000 women have received free mammograms and cervical cancer screenings thanks to her organization Dia De La Mujer Latina.Having won dozens of awards for her work with Latinas, including a couple from First Lady Michelle Obama, Gines has been instrumental in helping to define the term “Latino.”Read more.
Venus Ginés, CEO & Founder of Dia de la Mujer Latina Featured on Prepared Patient Forum
October 10, 2012 — Prepared Patient Forum interview with Venus Ginés of Dia de la Mujer Latina regarding Comparative Effectiveness Research. This is the fifth in a series of interviews between CFAH President and Founder Jessie Gruman and patient and consumer group leaders about their experiences with and attitudes toward comparative effectiveness research (CER).Read more.
Venus Ginés, CEO & Founder of Dia de la Mujer Latina Featured on In the Face of Pain website
June 2012 — Venus Ginés is featured on In the Face of Pain website under "Voices of Hope: Inspiration & Encouragement." Read the interview and listen to the audio file.
Día de la Mujer Latina Launches the 1st Train the Trainer Program for Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) consisting of Promotores/Community Health Workers
June 2, 2012, Houston, TX — Dia de la Mujer Latina, Inc., graduated 27 Promotores/Community Health Worker Instructors from 8 cities throughout Texas to the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Train the Trainer Program, conducted in Spanish. The CERT concept was developed and implemented by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) in response to the Mexico earthquake in 1985. They recognized that citizens would very likely be on their own during the early stages of a catastrophic disaster. In 1994 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) expanded the CERT materials to make them applicable to all hazards and made the program available to communities nationwide. However, there was a paucity of certified trainers who could teach in Spanish. DML’s CEO/Founder, Venus Ginés presented at FEMA’s Latino Leadership Council in Washington DC on the value of Promotores/Community Health Workers as first responders and convinced management to fund this training initiative. We are very excited about FEMA’s commitment to build community resiliency and focusing on the needs of the Whole Community, says Venus Ginés, who is a state certified Instructor for Promotores/Community Health Workers and an Instructor at Baylor College of Medicine, also stated that the graduates came from El Paso, Corpus Christi, Austin, Houston, Galveston, Dallas, Ft Worth and McAllen. Learn more.
The Harold P. Freeman Institute for Patient Navigation and Día de la Mujer Latina Announce Partnership
The Harold P. Freeman Institute for Patient Navigation and Día de la Mujer Latina today jointly announced their partnership to eliminate disparities among the racial and ethnic medically underserved and uninsured patients throughout the US and Latin America.
April 13, 2012, Houston, Texas — As we celebrate National Minority Health Month, renowned surgeon and Healthcare Leader, Dr. Harold Freeman and national Latina advocate, Venus Ginés, agreed to partner in promoting a call to action and unity for a culturally competent healthcare system in the regions, state and local offices of minority health, community health centers, faith-based and community-based organizations, who are committed to reducing health disparities.
To celebrate HHS's theme of "Health Equity Can't Wait. Act Now in Your CommUNITY," Dr. Freeman and Venus Ginés will create a combined national navigator training program, culturally and linguistically proficient for all Promotores/Community Health Workers and Patient Navigators, which also includes education on the Affordable Care Act. Navi4Health™ will conduct the evaluation.
Learn more.
Día de la Mujer Latina Launches its Quinceañera Celebration focusing on Cervical Cancer Awareness
January 12, 2012, Houston, TX — Latina women have the highest mortality rate due to cervical cancer. Día de la Mujer Latina (DML) will be celebrating its 15th birthday of successful community intervention on beast and cervical cancer – its Quinceañera on January 21, 2012. To kick-off the milestones and in recognition of National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, DML will be offering free cervical cancer screening of (Pap Smears) in partnership with Methodist Hospital, College of American Pathologists and the City of Houston at our next Health Fiesta cultural event at Southwest MultiService Center, 6400 High Star, Houston TX, 77074 on Saturday, from 9am to 2pm.. We will provide free breast exams and pap smears, as well as other STD screenings. Learn more.
Día de la Mujer Latina launches the Texas Teen Promotores: Living La Vida Healthier
December 29, 2011, Houston, TX - Día de la Mujer Latina, Inc., dedicated to reducing health disparities within the Latino Communities, proudly accepted the exciting task of creating a Teen Promotores Program with funding for Healthy Kids, Healthy Families, which is an initiative of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, operated by Health Care Service Corporation. Learn more.
Día de la Mujer Latina CEO /Founder, Venus Ginés is selected to serve as a member of the National Steering Committee for Promotores (as) de Salud/Community Health Workers (P/CHW).by U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health (OMH)
May 20, 2011 —Día de la Mujer Latina CEO/Founder, Venus Ginés has been honored to have been selected to serve as the Chair of the National Steering Committee for Promotores (as) de Salud/Community Health Workers (P/CHW). The Office of Minority Health in partnership with other US Department of Health and Human Services' agencies is charged with developing and managing the National Steering Committee for Promotores de Salud/CHWs. Learn more.
HHS Announces Promotores de Salud Initiative
May 18, 2011 —The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced an initiative to promote utilization of Promotores de Salud as a means of strengthening outreach and education on the availability of health services and insurance coverage to underserved Hispanic/Latino communities. Learn more.
Venus Ginés Appointed to APHA (American Public Health Association) Committee on Women's Rights
May 11, 2011 — Learn more.
Día de la Mujer Latina Receives Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Award to Train Promotores/Community Health Workers and Host Health Fiestas in 5 Cities
March 15, 2010, Houston, TX — Día de La Mujer Latina, Inc announced today that the funds provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas will enable the training of 100 Promotores de Salud and the celebration of five DML Health Fiestas to serve Latino/Hispanic communities in Dallas, Houston, Corpus Christi, El Paso and Austin, Texas, over the next year. On March 27th, DML, in partnership with the Hispanic Community Advisory Council, will co-host Feria de Salud 2010 at the Dallas Market Hall, on 2100 Stemmons Freeway in Dallas 75207. The following dates have been confirmed with other key collaborators in these cities: May 22 (Houston); June 19 (El Paso); August 7 (Corpus Christi); and September 25 (Austin). Learn more.
Dia de la Mujer Latina expresses concern with the New Screening Recommendations
Nov ember 16, 2009, Houston, TX — Día de la Mujer Latina (DML) is a national nonprofit organization, dedicated to educating and eliminating health disparities to breast and cervical cancer access to screening among Latinas. For the last 12 years, DML has conducted health fiestas across 30 states in the US as well as in Puerto Rico, reaching over 55,000 and training over 129 Promoters and Community Health Workers. After reviewing the new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Forces (USPSTF) regarding mammography screening for women over 50; DML feels as if this announcement has set back all the work that has been accomplished over the years in raising awareness of the importance of early detection at age 40.
DML realizes that the current mammography screening may have some deficiencies; however,it is still better to be on the side of caution rather than risking your life to a mortality statistic. Venus Ginés, founder of DML has creatively raised awareness over the importance of early detection screening at 40 and older, due to her breast cancer being detected at 41years of age. Many of the trained Promotoras (Community Health Workers) across the country have tirelessly educated and navigated those underserved and uninsured populations at-risk to early detection screening, such as clinical breast exams and mammograms at DML health fiestas. Due to the fact that Latinas survival rates to breast cancer are poorer than other racial and ethnic groups, DML stands by the current guidelines and will continue to encourage Latinos to get screened at 40 years and older and earlier if there is family history.
Contact Venus Gines for more information.
US Preventive Services Task Forces opposes routine mammograms for women age 40-49 and recommends routine mammography screenings every two years for women ages 50-74
Dia de la Mujer Latina & the Intercultural Ctr. for Health & Wellness extends its condolences over the untimely passing of Sara Gonzalez and will pay tribute to her as "Amiga Latina" at its May 10th Health Fiesta
February 19, 2008, Atlanta, Georgia — On behalf of Dia de la Mujer Latina, Inc and the Intercutural Center for Health & Wellness, inc., we wish to convey our sincerest sympathy to the family of Sara Gonzalez, as well as to the GHCC members and staff. Sara and I met in 1993 when I first moved to Atlanta and as the Director of Community Relations, she offered a warm welcome to me and my family and a friendship that spanned 14 years. We worked together at the Olympic Games and subsequently at the Governor's Latino Commission. Since Sara was also a fellow breast cancer survivor, she offered her support to Dia de la Mujer Latina since 1997. Sara loved her Latino community and wanted to do everything possible to empower them. What saddens me more is that her most passionate wish was for Fidel Castro to step down; ironically he finally did-- one day after her passing. I hope the Latino Commmission would consider a request to the Governor to name a street after Sara-- a beloved friend and champion of all Georgians.
Dia de la Mujer Latina, Inc (DML) CEO Venus Ginés Announces its New Name and New Headquarters
November 13, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia — After 10 years of providing culturally and linguistically proficient health promotion with its signature health fiestas and culturally-designed cancer education and disease preventive programs in Atlanta, founder and CEO Venus Ginés, announced today that the Board of Directors voted to change its name to National Dia de la Mujer Latina and to move its headquarters to Houston, Texas.
Why Many Latinas Don't Participate in Clinical Trials. By Venus Ginés
2007 — Published in EDICT, Eliminating Disparities in Clinical Trials.
Latino versus Hispanic: What are the historical roots behind the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino"?
2007 — It is difficult to make assumptions about Latinos since they represent a mix of racial and ethnic lines from 22 different countries of origin. This specific population has unique demographic characteristics and degrees of acculturation in addition to differences in history and cultural background. The terms Hispanic or Latino, used by many to classify the culture continues to be a source of contention because the former implies a connection to ancient Spain and its language while the latter represents a nationality, that of Latin America. The category term of Hispanic was first used in the l980 Census and caused uproar among Latinos in the Southwest, Chicago and New. Learn more.
