For the Comer Bien blog series, NCLR has asked several of our partners and Affiliates to reflect on the issues raised by families in the video vignettes. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author and our Affiliate, Mary’s Center, of Washington, DC, one of five organizations with whom NCLR partnered for the Comer Bien video and storybanking project.
By Maria Gomez, President and CEO, Mary’s Center
At Mary’s Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving 24,000 individuals in the DC metropolitan region, our work is rewarded with the stories we hear every day from clients like Brenda, a 17-year-old high school student who lives with her parents and two younger sisters in Washington, DC. Brenda was diagnosed with high cholesterol at a young age, together with overweight and a mild palsy in her leg that sometimes made physical activity challenging.
In stories like Brenda’s, there are often factors affecting the health and nutrition of our pediatric patients beyond the initial problem for which their parents brought them to see our doctors. It’s not a secret and we see it every day: families are struggling to put food on their table and to give their children good nutrition.
We know the outcomes of poor nutrition—our health providers and teachers see it firsthand in our participants. Our children are at risk for developmental delays and chronic disease; they also have poor performance in school and suffer from depression at very early stages in their lives.
We also know that our obese children will most likely grow up to be obese adults, contributing to the high cost of our health care system. They are at risk for heart disease, diabetes and insulin resistance, and—most alarming—dying much too young. The low self-esteem and social isolation of obesity puts our adolescents at risk for suicidal tendencies.
The good thing is that nearly all of this can be prevented. Part of our work at Mary’s Center is to guide and educate our families on healthy life styles. We have nutritionists who work in conjunction with the WIC program, SNAP (food stamps) enrollment, and after-school food programs that enable individuals to take advantage of resources to help them buy and prepare healthier foods while they also receive their health care and educational instruction.
When Brenda came to Mary’s Center, our medical team flagged her weight and high cholesterol as threats to Brenda’s health and connected her with our nutritionists, who provided her with culturally relevant, budget-friendly counseling and recipes.
Access to affordable health and education services helped not only Brenda, but also her entire family. Brenda shops with her father at the Latino grocery market, choosing healthier items and fresh foods for the family meals. In the past year, she has successfully lowered both her weight and cholesterol levels and is committed to continuing her progress. She will graduate from high school next spring.
Brenda is on board with her commitment to good nutrition and vows to teach her future children the healthy eating strategies that she learned at Mary’s Center. We are so proud of Brenda for her determination to overcome her barriers and for her decision to live a healthier life.
Save the date! NCLR will be wrapping up the Comer Bien vignette series with a Twitter chat on Thursday, October 6, at 4:00 p.m. EDT. Stay tuned for more information.