"Que sea humilde," says 15-year state senator Leticia Van de Putte, "doesn't cut it." This mindset of "don't be boastful" doesn't fly in the workforce, and it doesn't cut it in the community when individuals need health care services, either.

Leticia Van de Putte, currently in her third term as a senator in Texas, served five terms in the House before that. She was Chair of the Senate Hispanic Caucus and Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, as well as a member of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.

Prevalence of Disability in Latino Communities in Texas
Says Van de Putte, "There is one thing that connects the Latino population in my neighborhoods. It's not the brightly colored houses. It's not the great pan dulce (pastry). It's not even the church on every block. It is the number of wheelchair ramps going up on our homes in every neighborhood—from the barrios to the middle class to the gated communities."

Van de Putte is alarmed at the rise in disability in the Latino community she serves. Years ago, when she was beginning her career as a pharmacist, she says it was rare to prescribe insulin, yet now she sees 8-year-olds on dialysis. In 2005 alone, she adds, Medicaid paid for over 500 amputations on children aged 21 and under due to diabetes.

Latinos make up a huge percentage of the Texas population and the numbers continue to explode. While the disability statistics mirror those of the nation, hovering around 19 percent, Van de Putte sees that number poised for an explosion as well, citing an unprecedented increase in the number of Latinos with disabilities between the ages of 40 and 65 due to diabetes and cardiac disease.

Danger of Diabetes
The Senator is concerned with Latinos' health. She said that 40 percent of third graders are obese, and that one-third of Latina women born in 1965 or after will develop diabetes.

"The number one public health threat is not the avian flu," warns Van de Putte, "it's what is on our dinner plate." Latinos are experiencing renal failure, vision loss and amputation at an earlier age than non-Latinos due to the increase in diabetes in the community, and as a consequence many Latinos are missing out on the most productive earning years—between the ages of 45 and 65. "At the time they should be earning the most," says Van de Putte, "these families are really struggling."

Public policy changes, says Van de Putte, are critically needed at the federal level to make sure Latinos can get in and stay in the workforce. Money, she acknowledges, continues to be a problem. "I'm frustrated because advocates on the prevention side fight advocates from the services side. There's never enough money."

Cultural Competence & Disability
Cultural differences, says Van de Putte, have to be taken into account in the provision of health care services for Latinos as well. Studies show, for example, that Latino men have high rates of mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia, yet they don't respond the same way as non-Latinos to the commonly prescribed medications to treat these disorders. Yet, research isn't being done to determine what treatments might be effective.

return to Bridges 2006 index 

printer friendly format