Casa Latina, Inc.

Casa Latina is awarded grant to close gap on health disparities among Latinos

This September Casa Latina was awarded a two year grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA Foundation to fund the “Bridges to Latino Health/Puentes a la Salud Latina.” project.  After completing a needs assessment phase called “Closing the Gap on Health Disparities among Latinos in Hampshire County,”  Casa Latina will offer a project that will target both health providers and Latino consumers. 

Our integrated strategy includes the deployment of certified bilingual Community Health Workers (CHW) working primarily with two large primary care practices- Valley Medical Group and Northampton Area Pediatrics.  The purpose of the CHW is to improve access to and increase utilization of primary health care, and reduce health disparities by serving as the ‘bridge’ between clients in the needs and health care services.  The CHWs will also offer educational groups on health topics to the Latino community and Chronic Disease Management groups. 

In addition, Casa Latina will be offering  staff training for health providers and partner agencies on such topics as Latino culture, health education materials for bilingual and low-literacy audiences, and organizational strategies to create a more ‘Latino-friendly’ environment.

Finally, Casa Latina will be facilitating a broader Partnership Coalition of providers, consumers and local service agencies. Our agency partners include – ServiceNet, the Hilltown Community Health Center and Cooley-Dickinson Hospital will serve on the Partnership coalition with VMG and NAPEDS. Through a combination of these efforts we will be increasing the community’s understanding of the root causes of disparities and the community’s role in helping to shape local solutions.