Maryland Office of Minority Health 
and Health Disparities (MHHD)
MHHD May 2018 Newsletter Highlights
MHHD Director's Corner
Diversity in Action

MHHD salutes and joins our brothers and sisters in celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month recognized nationally throughout the month of May to acknowledge the roles that AAPIs have played in the history of the United States. 2017 Census data indicates that Asian and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders comprise 6.7 percent of the estimated Maryland population. 

According to the Library of Congress, AAPI Heritage Month originated in Congress in 1977 to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese people to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Most workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

In recognition of diversity in action, MHHD's   Minority Outreach and Technical Assistance  (MOTA) program funds a baby born healthy project implemented by the Asian American Center of Frederick (AACF). AACF also provides vital services to assist immigrants and minorities in reaching their full potential including interpreter /translation services, English as a Second Language (ESL) and citizenship classes, mentoring, housing, education, employment, and business development.

Join me in a grand May chorus to celebrate diversity in action.
MHHD Director, Noel Brathwaite, PhD, MSPH  
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month


 
AAPI Heritage Month originated with Congress in 1977, and the month of May was chosen to honor the immigration of the first Japanese to the U.S. in May of 1843 and to mark the completion of the transcontinental railroad - the majority of those who worked on the railroad were Chinese.  Read more about the history of AAPI.

Visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health (HHS OMH) website for resources to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month including:
Highlights from National Minority Health Month 2018 (April)


MHHD had a very busy and productive April celebrating National Minority Health Month and engaging with our state and local partners.   Some MHHD Minority Health Month programming highlights include:
Additionally, MHHD's Minority Outreach and Technical Assistance Grantees hosted community conversations throughout the state to engage their local partners in health equity discussion.

 
MHHD team celebrates Minority Health Month

1-Mile Walk for Health top 3 finishers









  
MHHD staff present to new MDH employees on the social determinants of health


Building Sustainable Partnerships to Increase Access to Care Panel Discussion
Health Equity Summit at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Health Equity Summit at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Health Equity Partner's Corner

Article by  Sosena Kebede, MD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Community Physicians @ Remington
Associate Faculty, Department of Health Policy and Management
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Health Care Quality and the Social Determinants of Health

The concept of Patient Centered Care (PCC) which is one of the healthcare quality domains identified by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has gained wide recognition, but its application still remains somewhat vague. The central theme behind PCC is the notion that care should be organized around the patient's needs, preferences, and values and patients should participate in decision making. One of the methods of PCC application championed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is the recommendation to ask patients "What matters to you?" rather than "What is the matter?"