2013 Health Care Heroes

Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program congratulates Angelica Medina and Naomi Cunningham who are Breast Health Educators from Sisters United In Health/Hermanas Unidas En La Salud for being awarded as 2013 Health Care Heroes.

Breast cancer touches the lives of thousands of women each year. While mortality rates have improved nationwide, African-American and Latino women continue to be disproportionally affected by the disease. These ethnic groups have been found to be less likely to receive breast cancer screening, resulting in delayed diagnosis, which increases mortality rates.

In 2001, the former director of education at Planned Parenthood of Nassau County Action and the director of the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program spearheaded the formation of Sisters United in Health/Hermanas Unidas en la Salud to educate and empower African-American and Latino women on Long Island to take charge of their breast health. All of SUIH’s services and educational materials are provided confidentially, at no cost, in both English and Spanish by professional community health educators.

The team leaders of SUIH are Angelica Medina, bilingual outreach coordinator, and Naomi Cunningham, outreach coordinator. Both are passionate about what they do and the women they help. Their mission is to address the barriers that contribute to breast cancer disparities experienced by underserved African-American and Latino women. Medina and Cunningham provide culturally sensitive, medically accurate and linguistically appropriate breast health educational workshops, participate in community health and wellness events and refer uninsured and/or undocumented women to free or low-cost breast cancer screenings.