Univision Marks ¡ENTÉRATE! Anniversary.

Univision Communications Inc. announced the one-year anniversary of “¡Salud es Vida… Entérate!” (Lead a healthy life…Get the facts!). This integrated cross-platform health education initiative is aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles, encouraging illness prevention, and providing motivational encouragement for early detection and aggressive management of key health conditions in order to address the significant disparities in health afflictions and health care faced by Latinos of all ages in the U.S. today.

“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of ‘¡Entérate!,’ and we are eager to continue to develop new programs with our partner organizations as we build on our outreach to U.S. Hispanics and the health care providers who serve them,” said Ivelisse Estrada, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Community Relations, Univision Communications Inc. “Univision is deeply committed to helping improve the health of our community members and address the current health concerns of our dedicated audience.”

“I applaud Univision on the anniversary of their ‘Salud es Vida…Entérate’ campaign,” said Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis CA-32, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ Health Task Force. “By providing accurate, easy to understand health information and connecting people with local health resources, Univision is helping Latino families lead healthier lives.” Congresswoman Solis entered a commendation of Univision and the Entérate campaign on the Congressional Record on the campaign’s first anniversary.

In just one year, “Salud es Vida…¡Entérate!” health initiative has received numerous national and local accolades, including a commendation from the Pan American Health Organization for its health promotion and disease prevention efforts, the American Heart Association’s Communication Award for its support and commitment to the fight against cardiovascular disease, and the National Hispanic Dental Association’s President’s Award for outstanding service to the community. In addition, the American Heart Association presented Univision 23 WLTV in Miami with the Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Communications and Univision 34 KMEX in Los Angeles with the 2004 C. Everett Koop Media Award.

Television Specials

As part of this initiative, Univision Television Group produces quarterly specials dealing with important health issues affecting the U.S. Latino community.

Most recently, on November 27, 2004, Univision aired “Diabetes…Su Guía de Prevención” (Diabetes…Your Guide to Prevention), a half-hour special about diabetes, its complications, and methods to control and prevent the disease. Latinos are disproportionately affected by diabetes, with two million Latinos nationwide suffering from this disease. This number is rapidly growing, especially among younger Latinos. Over the last year, other television specials have focused on living a healthy lifestyle, disease prevention, heart disease, cancer detection and prevention, and organ donation.

In addition to the special programming, Univision also produces and airs regular Public Service Announcements (PSAs) featuring Univision Network talent. Many of Univision’s talent participate in PSAs for health issues that have directly affected them or their loved ones. For example, celebrity host Don Francisco is featured in a PSA about diabetes, a disease that he lives with every day. And news anchor Teresa Rodriguez is featured in a heart disease PSA, an issue that has become very important to her after she lost her husband to a heart attack in 2002. Ms. Rodriguez has also become the Spanish language spokesperson for the “Go Red for Women” Campaign of the American Heart Association.

Radio and Online

Univision Radio not only airs Entérate’s PSAs and vignettes, but also complements the health initiative with “El Consultorio de la Dra. Aliza,” a national one-hour radio talk show that educates and informs listeners about health issues affecting Latinos. The show’s host, Dra. Aliza Lifshitz, is a practicing physician in Los Angeles and author of Mamá Sana, Bebé Sano. In addition, radio stations across the country have joined with the local Univision television stations to participate in various community events.

Univision Online’s Entérate home page features monthly topics on various diseases and offers users local resources as well as monthly chats and forums about a variety of health issues.

Community Outreach

As part of Entérate’s community outreach, Univision stations across the country have partnered with non-profit organizations such as the Kaiser Family Foundation, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross and the March of Dimes, to inform the Hispanic community about local health services and promote awareness of health issues and prevention (see full list below). In addition to airing special news and public affairs programming dedicated to providing enhanced health-related information, many local stations have participated in health fairs, blood drives and fund-raising activities, among many other community events.

Univision’s partners in “¡Salud es Vida… Entérate!” include:

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
The Association of Academic Health Centers (AHC)
Ad Council
AHRQ
American Cancer Society
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
American Liver Foundation
American Lung Association
American Red Cross
Hispanic Dental Association
Hispanic Federation (N.Y.)
InterAmerican College of Physicians
March of Dimes
Mental Health Media Partnership
NAMI
National Association of Hispanic Nurses
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
National Cancer Institute
National Council of La Raza
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Institute for Cancer
National Kidney Foundation
National Pharmaceutical Council
Pan American Health Organization
PhRMA
The National Alliance for Hispanic Health
The National Latina Health Network
The Neighborhood