Because a workforce that looks like America will serve America better by increasing minority access to health care. And greater access to health care will help reduce disparities in health outcomes. We were honored to have been present at the beginning of the NHMA by helping sponsor advisory committee and regional meetings in 1995 and 1996, and we ve supported every annual conference of the organization since then. Border Health Program HRSA also is heavily involved in working to improve the health of mostly Latino residents along the U.S.-Mexico border. Indeed, we have lead responsibility within the Department of Health and Human Services on this issue, and in 1996 we created the HRSA Border Health Program to improve public health and build healthy communities there.
Families living along the border face some of our nation s most severe health challenges.
Responsibility for the program gave us the privilege of meeting with and talking to border residents and dedicated health professionals in health centers and clinics who know the situation first-hand. Twice I ve gathered HRSA s top officials and taken them with me to the border. On our second trip, we went to the California edge of the border, to Calexico and San Diego and to Tijuana in Mexico. In Imperial County, we saw the difficulties in taking public health campaigns to isolated farms. In San Diego and Tijuana, we marveled at the creativity of local initiatives trying to coordinate health services on both sides of the border.