Vanessa Mills: Fulfilling a Personal Mission
Vanessa Mills, Executive Director, Empower "U," a community health center in Miami
The second of four profiles about the 2015 Heroes in the Struggle awardees.
Although some may view a chronic illness as a hardship, Vanessa Mills, founder and chief executive officer of Empower "U" Inc., a federally qualified health center in Miami, sees it as a pathway to purpose.
In This Issue
We run the second installment of our four-part series about our 2015 Heroes in the Struggle awardees, profiling Vanessa Mills, the founder and executive director of Empower U Inc., in Miami. We also wrap up our two-part series about the healthcare challenges transgender people face.
Health Challenges That Transgender People Face, Part 2
Monica Roberts, founding member of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition and creator of TransGriot.com
Transgender people face many health challenges that cisgender people—those whose experience of their gender matches the gender they were born with—don't face. In part 1 we examined how factors such as inadequate health insurance coverage, discrimination and a lack of culturally sensitive care combine to place people at greater risk of poor health. Here, we continue the list.
Read more: Health Challenges That Transgender People Face, Part 2
Social Media Tools to Help You Observe Hepatitis Awareness Month
Corinna Dan, R.N., M.P.H., Viral Hepatitis Policy Advisor, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
May is Hepatitis Awareness Month, providing us with 31 days to raise awareness of viral hepatitis in the United States. Awareness activities will take place throughout the month, with Tuesday, May 19th designated as National Hepatitis Testing Day. With an estimated 3.5-5.3 million Americans living with chronic viral hepatitis, most of whom are unaware that they are infected, it is critical that we continue to build awareness and increase testing to confront this epidemic.
Read more: Social Media Tools to Help You Observe Hepatitis Awareness Month
Stop STIs: Six Steps to Safer Sex
Talking about it
Whether you call them sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), one thing is true: Women are at risk of infection. Not only does a woman's anatomy make her vulnerable to STIs, women are less likely to have symptoms than men. Untreated STIs can lead to serious health issues, including infertility, cancer, and even death. It's not fun to think about, but protecting yourself from STIs like genital herpes, genital warts, chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV is an important part of staying healthy.