WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, April 29, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) and CHCI-PepsiCo Foundation Health Graduate Fellows Araceli Gutiérrez and Grant Barbosa will host briefings on health issues impacting the Latino community. National leaders, including Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, and subject matter experts will participate in diverse panels featuring in-depth discussions addressing some of the most critical health issues facing the Latino community today. The Graduate Fellows will also present white papers on the topic of each panel.

What:                        2015 Capitol Hill Policy Briefing Series

Who:              CHCI 2014-15 Graduate Fellows

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (9:30 am session)

Where:          Cannon House Office Building – Room 121

When:                        April 29, 2015

                  9:30 – 12:15 am

9:30 – 10:45 am

"Investing in Health to Achieve Equity: Integrating a Health in All Policies (HiAP) Framework to Advance the Promise Zone Agenda"

Moderated by CHCI-PepsiCo Foundation Health Graduate Fellow Araceli Gutiérrez featuring Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard

2015 Health Graduate Briefing White Paper - Araceli Gutiérrez

Nearly 50 years after former President Lyndon B. Johnson launched the War on Poverty, President Obama unveiled his anti-poverty Promise Zone Initiative aimed at alleviating poverty and income inequality in the United States. Promise Zones aim to revitalize high poverty communities across the nation, working with local leaders to create jobs, increase private investment, improve educational opportunities, and reduce violent crime. Promise Zone-designated areas represent an opportunity to leverage the initiative’s systemic and cooperative multi-sector framework to integrate a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach in mitigating poverty among vulnerable populations. It is therefore imperative that Congress amend legislation to include a HiAP framework in place-based initiatives; only then can viable upstream interventions be developed to promote equitable health outcomes for a diversifying U.S. population. This briefing will focus on the ways in which structural barriers to opportunity perpetuate multi-generational poverty and adverse health outcomes among women, racial and ethnic minorities and why it is critical to integrate a HiAP framework in anti-poverty strategies and interventions to address the Promise Zone agenda.

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11:00am–12:15pm

"Funding Community Health Centers to Reduce Costs and Protect Vulnerable Populations"

Moderated by CHCI-PepsiCo Foundation Health Graduate Fellow Grant Barbosa

2015 Health Graduate Briefing White Paper – Grant Barbosa

Community health centers play a vital role in the American health care system, serving as primary care for many of our most vulnerable populations, such as low-income and minority citizens. However, a significant portion of this funding expires at the end of the 2015 fiscal year. Community health centers will not be able to function without some level of financing, thus wreaking havoc on populations that already suffer health outcome disparities. In addition, community health centers have proven to be cost-effective and fruitful to the American economy. Given their economic impact, the question lies not in not whether community health centers should receive funding, but rather at what level should community health centers be funded. This briefing will explore the vital role that community health centers play in addition to the amount of funding they should receive.

 Click here to learn more about this briefing

*For media RSVPs, please send email to Irving Burbano at iburbano@chci.org

About CHCI

CHCI is the premier Hispanic nonprofit and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) leadership development organization in the country that educates, empowers, and connects Latino youth by providing leadership development programs and educational services. CHCI directly impacts the lives of more than 1,700 students and young professionals each year through its fellowships,  congressional internships, scholarships, Ready to Lead (R2L^®) college readiness program, and R2L NextGen program. CHCI NextOpp is its latest resource allowing young Latinos to save, search and share life-changing opportunities for Latinos across the United States.

The CHCI Board of Directors is comprised of Hispanic members of Congress, nonprofit, union and corporate leaders. Visit www.chci.org, or join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.