In 2021, Migrant Clinicians Network will be hard at work to fight for health justice by developing and disseminating practical solutions for clinicians and the vulnerable populations they serve. COVID-19 will continue to be at the center of much of our work. Here’s a rundown of just a few of MCN’s newest projects.
- Our longstanding partnership with the Ventanilla de Salud (Health Windows), a health initiative sponsored by the Mexican government and housed within each of the consulate offices around the US, is growing. One of the most successful initiatives is the adult immunization project in coordination with the City of Austin Health Equity Division. Through this alliance, vaccines are made available free of charge to adults seeking services inside the Mexican Consulate in Austin. The Women’s Resilience Initiative has grown out of the need to hold the annual Women’s Leadership Conference virtually in 2020. As a result, monthly meetings will be held through Zoom and broadcast over Facebook to women in Austin and other communities served by the Ventanilla.
- MCN is excited to initiate a five-year partnership with Rutgers and the State University of New Jersey, Center for Public Health Workforce Development. MCN will facilitate trainings for clinicians in community health centers and the communities they serve in Puerto Rico in order to support disaster preparedness, recovery, and response with the overall goal of improving worker health and safety. This collaboration is part of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Training Program.
- MCN will further advance its important efforts in training workers to stay safe on the job through our Susan Harwood Training grant in 2021. Funded by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, this grant emphasizes capacity building within MCN and among our partners and we look forward to collaborating with two Ventanillas de Salud programs in Texas and California to train workers on important topics like infectious disease, heat-related illness, and chemical safety.
- MCN’s new collaboration with the University of Texas, Austin, will look to develop psychosocial support services for young adults in Central Texas. As a result of a survey that was conducted with emerging adults, the need for accessible psychosocial support services specifically for this age group was identified. Support/affinity groups will be established early in the year to provide young adults with a platform to share support and learn about available resources.
- MCN is already hard at work as partners in the National Resource Center for COVID-19 Contact Tracing, Prevention, and Mitigation Programs for At-Risk Refugee, Immigrants, and Migrants in the United States. This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded program is a multiagency collaboration between the University of Minnesota, Center for Global Health, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the International Rescue Committee.
MCN’s active blog regularly reports out on new projects and partnerships, along with the resources and tools that are developed. Visit www.migrantclinician.org/blog to read and subscribe.
Read this article in the Winter 2021 issue of Streamline here!
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