Health Equity

        

The YWCA Women’s Health Equity program empowers underserved women and girls to take charge of their own healthcare. Through   education, outreach, and financial assistance, Women’s Health Equity works to reduce persistent health disparities related to poverty, ethnicity, and social status.

Women’s Health Equity provides women with free preventive health services such as mammograms, cardiovascular screenings, and smoking cessation classes. Additionally, trilingual program staff delivers culturally appropriate education about breast health, brain fitness, heart health, nutrition, and tobacco cessation and the dangers of second-hand smoke to women and girls throughout the state.

Health Equity outreach workers also provide women with help navigating the healthcare system, emotional support, and regular, personal reminders to get annual breast screenings. For over 15 years, the YWCA has provided these services to the New Mexican women who need them most.

Because large populations of underserved women and girls in New Mexico continue to experience serious, unmet health-related needs, demand for the YWCA’s services increases every year. The program is continually adjusting to meet the changing health care needs of the community and is working to add several new components during FY 2011. Some of these initiatives include a fitness and nutrition program for impoverished high school girls; a brain fitness program that will help older women retain their independence; an informational  campaign that educates home child care providers about the dangers of secondhand smoke; small group presentations that inform women about ways to reduce their risk of heart disease; and the development of a grassroots community network to identify the health needs of people living in poverty.

As caregivers, women are in a powerful position to teach their families about health and wellness. By giving women the tools that they need to live healthier lives, the Women’s Health Equity program has a profound impact on families and communities throughout New Mexico.

Health Equity Programs
ENCOREplus
Heart Health
TUPAC Smokefree

For more information about Health Equity programs and services, please call 254-9922.

Funded By:
Avon Foundation for Women
United Way of Central New Mexico
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Nancy Floyd Haworth Foundation
New Mexico Department of Health Tobacco Use Prevention and Control (TUPAC) Program
Private Contributions