Buffalo, NY to hold special refugee health care summit

They must be having health problems with refugees in New York.  If you live in the area, it might be worth your while to try to get into this meeting.  LOL!  After all, you are a “stakeholder” too!

Jessica Scates: Health care providers must provide culturally engaged care. http://sphhp.buffalo.edu/global-health/about-us/our-staff.html

From University of Buffalo Reporter:

Every year, 1,500 to 2,000 refugees and asylum-seekers come to Buffalo — one of the top refugee resettlement areas in the United States — driven by social and political upheaval, war, economic and agricultural distress, and poverty.

Before they leave their homelands, they are provided health assessments, vaccine updates and any necessary medical treatment. But when they get here, it’s a different story. They often face substantial and complex problems when they try to gain access to the physical and mental health services required by them and their families.

To explore these challenges and develop models for exemplary refugee health care systems, the University at Buffalo will sponsor Buffalo’s first collaborative Refugee Health Summit on April 24 at the UB Educational Opportunity Center, 555 Ellicott St., Buffalo.

Participation in the Refugee Health Summit, which will take place from 12:30-7:30 p.m., is by invitation only. If interested in attending, contact Jessica Scates at jmscates@buffalo.edu.

[….]

It will feature major participation by Western New York’s four resettlement agencies: the International Institute of Buffalo, Catholic Charities of Buffalo, Jewish Family Service and Journey’s End Refugee Services, and by representatives of the refugee community itself.

[….]

Jessica Scates, coordinator of the OGHI, notes that as part of their orientation to Buffalo, refugees are educated about health care and health systems. “The challenge is to ready local health professionals to provide culturally engaged care to individuals from a variety of backgrounds,” she says. “Cultural education for local medical providers is especially important in addressing barriers to care, which can be complicated and difficult to resolve.”

Since there is an expanding Muslim population there, do you think they get into care for women and girls who undergo female genital mutilation?

See our archive on Buffalo, here.  See also our refugee health issues category with 209 previous posts.

Spread the love

Leave a Reply