Ford breaks Down Hispanic Healthcare Transpostation Barrier.

Ford Division is donating vehicles to healthcare clinics to help Hispanic families in need through its ‘Salud Sobre Ruedas’ (Health on Wheels) program. Six Ford Econoline 15-passenger vans are being provided to clinics in top Hispanic markets including San Diego, San Antonio and the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Ford Division launched the Salud Sobre Ruedas program two years ago to foster health education and help Latinos in the United States attain much-needed transportation to healthcare centers. The program aims to facilitate regular health check-ups to detect the diseases and ailments that most affect the U.S. Hispanic population.

“Ford is committed to supporting the Hispanic community to ensure a healthy future,” said Francisco Codina, Ford Division General Marketing manager. “Our goal is to eliminate the transportation challenges that many Latinos face in getting to local clinics to receive routine healthcare.”

A panel of judges composed of community health leaders, media members and Ford management selected two clinics in each market to receive the vehicles.

Since the program began, Ford has donated 20 vans to clinics in Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas and Houston. Ford will donate five additional vans to clinics in other Hispanic markets next year.

Getting healthcare can be daunting for many Hispanics who face obstacles such as limited financial resources and language barriers. The Salud Sobre Ruedas program gives these people a chance for a healthy future by eliminating the challenge of finding transportation to visit their doctors and clinics for regular check-ups.

According to the 2002 Yankelovich Monitor, Hispanics today are less involved with and informed about their health than ten years ago. Seven out of ten Hispanics do not seek help from doctors unless they are very sick, indicating that emergencies and serious illnesses are more likely to warrant outside help while lesser health concerns are handled without medical care.

Hispanics generally restrict their use of healthcare resources to instances of great urgency, rather than adopting preventative healthcare behaviors. Preventative care and early detection of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease is the key for successful treatment and a long, healthy life.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Hispanic adults. According to a recent American Heart Association study, Hispanics are twice as likely to die from cardiovascular disease than non-Hispanic whites. Diseases of the heart account for 31 percent of the nearly 104,000 Hispanic-American deaths per year. Unfortunately, most of these heart disease-related deaths easily could be prevented through early detection and treatment.

Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, panel member for the San Antonio clinics and president of the University of Texas Health and Science Center at San Antonio, has treated many Latinos suffering from all phases of diabetes and has conducted many related research studies. On average, Hispanic Americans are twice as likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. In 2000, 10.2 percent of all Hispanic Americans – two million people – were known to have diabetes.

“I am honored to be a part of Ford’s program that is helping Latinos access much needed regular healthcare,” said Cigarroa. “The early detection of diabetes significantly reduces the risk of serious complications allowing patients to lead healthy, normal lives.”

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