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Group Continues to Build Inroads for Improved Health for Central California's Hmong Communities
FRESNO, Calif. (August 11, 2008) – The California Endowment today announced a two-year, $1 million grant to the Central Valley’s Hmong Health Collaborative – a group of 10 Hmong-serving community based organizations that work together to improve access to culturally-appropriate health care services for the Hmong communities in four counties – Sacramento, Fresno, Merced and San Joaquin – in Central California. The new funding will help the collaborative to improve the health and well-being of Central California’s Hmong community by increasing their involvement in health policy advocacy, community organizing, and cross-cultural exchange and education programs designed to create a greater understanding of the Hmong community’s health care needs among the region’s health care providers and systems.
“What began four years ago as a project to address the immediate health needs of newly-arrived Hmong refugees has transformed into a dynamic and robust region-wide health advocacy collaborative,” said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment. “These organizations are to be commended not only for the critical services they provide, but also for taking the brave leap into health policy advocacy and engaging health care providers and health systems to improve access to culturally appropriate health services for the Hmong communities throughout Central California.”
Approximately four years ago, The Endowment provided funding to these same organizations for the Hmong Resettlement Health Project to address the immediate health needs of newly arriving Hmong refugees. The Endowment provided subsequent funding in 2006 so that these same organizations could develop the Hmong Health Collaborative. That funding helped the organizations to develop a structure for the collaborative and engage in health advocacy training and community organizing to mobilize the Hmong community to advocate for the improved delivery of culturally appropriate health services.
To date, the Hmong Health Collaborative member organizations have trained their staff on how to engage in health policy advocacy and adapted a community organizing model to tailor it specifically for the Hmong community to increase Hmong residents’ civic involvement in health issues impacting the Hmong community. These issues include raising awareness about their legal right to a health care interpreter when seeking health services and integrating traditional Hmong healing practices into their health care treatment plans, such as allowing shamans to work with their health care providers so that Hmong patients’ spiritual needs are being met.
“Prior to the creation of the collaborative, the Hmong community had virtually no voice or platform with which to reach out to the region’s influential decision makers,” said Lue Yang, executive director for the Fresno Center for New Americans. “Now, through the work of the Hmong Health Collaborative, the Hmong community is lifting its voice locally and statewide to improve its access to culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate health and mental health care.”
The Hmong Health Collaborative consists of leaders from the following organizations:
Fresno Center for New Americans
Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries
Healthy House within a MATCH Coalition in Merced
Hmong Women’s Heritage Association in Sacramento
Lao Family Community of Stockton, Inc.
Sacramento Lao Family, Inc.
Merced Lao Family, Inc.
Southeast Asian Assistance Center in Sacramento
Central California Legal Services in Fresno
Health Rights Hotline in Sacramento
The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, The Endowment has regional offices in San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and San Diego, with program staff working throughout the state. The Endowment makes grants to organizations and institutions that directly benefit the health and well-being of the people of California. To date, The Endowment has awarded approximately 9,800 grants across California totaling nearly $1.8 billion. For more information, visit The Endowment’s Web site at www.calendow.org.
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