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minority health program staff:

Kolawole Bankole, M.D., M.S.
Minority Health Program Coordinator/Access Project Director
Tel 207-874-8773
Fax 207.874.8913
Email bak@portlandmaine.gov

Tezita Negussie
Minority Health Program Specialist
Tel 207-874-8962
Fax 207-874-8913
Email TNegussie@portlandmaine.gov

Nelida Berke
Community Health Outreach Worker
(Central and South America/ Latino Communities)
Tel 207-874-8452
Fax 207-874-8913
Email nrb@portlandmaine.gov

Deqa Dhalac
Community Health Outreach Worker
(Somali/ Sudanese Community)
Tel 207-874-8943
Fax 207-874-8913
Email ddhalac@portlandmaine.gov

The Program maintains an asthma helpline for both the Somali and Latino communities.  The helpline is available to members of the Somali and Latino Communities with treatment questions and other questions about asthma. 

Latino asthma helpline: 756-8188

Linea amigable de asma para niños y adultos: 756-8188

Somali asthma helpline: 756-8177

Laynka cudurka neefta ama asmada ee caruurta iyo dadka waaweyn: 756-8177

 

minority health program

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Current Projects
Minority Population Served
Objectives
Resources

The Minority Health Program (MHP) of the Public Health Division, Health and Human Services Department, and City of Portland was established to help address the health related issues and needs of all minority communities in the Greater Portland area.

MHP links people to needed services and improves the communities’ health status through Community Health Outreach Workers (CHOWs) and community partnerships.

Among the Minority Populations Served include the following racial and ethnic groups:

·    Khmer
·    Arabic
·    Spanish
·    Acholi
·    Somali
·    Serbian/Croatian
·    Vietnamese
·    Nuer
·    French
·    Chinese
·    Russian
·    African American

The MHP is guided by a vision of a healthy community in which:

·    Diversity within the community is respected and valued by community members and institutions

·    Everyone has access to quality health and social services

·    Everyone has access to resources and conditions required for a healthy lifestyle

·    Institutions and policy makers are responsive to community residents

·    The assets and gifts of community residents are acknowledged and shared

·    MHP work is conducted in partnership with community organizations and service providers to identify and address health priorities of the minority communities

MHP Objectives

    1.  Improve minority community health at the community, family and individual levels.
    2.  Increase capacity of community groups to establish health and well being priorities and to implement a locally defined community health agenda.
    3.  Strengthen informal and formal social networks and sense of community focusing on the strengths and assets of the Portland’s largest eleven ethnic/ language groups.
    4.  Ensure that institutions, including the Public Health Division, are more accessible and responsive to the community interests by building an integrated channel of information through the establishment of a network of community health outreach workers.
    5.  Active participation in health policy forums, health plans, task forces, workgroups / committees.

MHP Current Projects

·   ACCESS Project.  MHP partners with Mercy Hospital, Maine Medical Center and Ingraham to improve health care access to the ethnic minority communities in the Greater Portland area. The project has four major components. 

·    OSA/OPP Project.  MHP is partnering with the Maine Office of Substance Abuse and the Overdose Prevention Project to raise awareness about substance abuse in the minority communities. 

·   Healthy Portland Project.  MHP has partnered with the Healthy Portland in expanding tobacco prevention campaigns to minority communities. 

·   MEMA Project.  MHP and Maine Emergency Management Agency designed and produced Emergency Preparedness Magnets in 8 languages that have been distributed out into the community.  Along with the magnets, MHP staff conducted educational forums and outreach for the communities in their native languages. 

·   Stop TB Campaign. MHP’s network of community health outreach workers participate in the ‘Stop TB Campaign’ through community health outreach and case management tracking.

·   Video Projects:  MHP creates culturally appropriate videos for health related issues.  Videos have been created to cover the topics of lead, asthma, orientation and tobacco-use prevention.

·   Major Events.  Each year, MHP hosts an event in one of the minority communities celebrating their culture and highlighting specific health issues that are a concern in those communities.  Some examples include: the Exercise for Health and Love health fair and screening, and the Latino Soccer Tournament.  Keep a look out on our health calendar for upcoming events.