HHS Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina G. Carbonell and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Director Carolyn Clancy recently announced that eight communities will participate in an HHS pilot initiative to improve the health and quality of life of Hispanic elders. The Alliance for Aging, Inc. in Miami, Florida and its counterparts in the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Ill., Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, Calif., McAllen, Texas;.; New York, NY; San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego, Calif., have been selected to take part in the pilot project launched earlier this year by HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt titled “Improving Hispanic Elders’ Health: Community Partnerships for Evidence-Based Solutions.”
This collaboration is designed to encourage Hispanic elders and their families to take advantage of new Medicare benefits, including prescription drug coverage, flu shots, diabetes screening self-management, cardiovascular screening, cancer screening services and smoking cessation programs, as well as low-cost evidence-based prevention programs.
