WELCOME GROW PR NETWORK’S NEW MEMBERS!

With a mission to provide high-quality primary, preventive, and specialized health services, using an integrated evidence-based model of physical and mental health; aimed at disadvantaged people, vulnerable populations, and the community in general. Neomed Center has been committed to serving their community with integrity, compassion, and responsibility for more than 30 years.

GROW Puerto Rico Network Membership Meeting:

Our end-of-year meeting will be held on December 19, 2023 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Puerto Rico Association of Primary Health Care Providers (ASPPR, Spanish acronym).  Physical Address: Edificio Alianza #400, Av. Américo Miranda, San Juan, 00927.

We are looking to share experiences and our next steps for Generating Research Opportunities Working together for improving healthcare services and health outcomes in Puerto Rico.

*Lunch will be included*

Register here

Working Together: GROW Puerto Rico Network’s Site Visits

Creating a community of safety and collaboration through mutual support is essential to a network. On October 26, 2023 we visited Migrant Health Center in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Migrant Health Center, Western Region, Inc. has been providing generations of citizens in Puerto Rico’s west coast with high quality clinical services for over 35 years. The twelve facilities include an array of medical services: dental, mental health, pharmacy, HIV prevention, outreach activities for unhoused communities, among many others. Mr. Hendryx Malaret, special projects director, along with Ms. Amanda Rodriguez, and Mr. Yacin Benavides, have been accelerating the development of an outstanding team that seeks to increase research opportunities in different settings to improve and maximize quality services.

     We also visited Centro Médico Episcopal San Lucas. The hospital has been serving the Ponce community advancing and diversifying through the years to include programs providing care for the south population. The Graduate Medical Education program led by Dr. Maria Valentin, internist, and Mr. Fabian Ramirez, GME coordinator, have established a team of researchers, medical professionals, and other collaborators to advance and develop research projects aimed at improving services and outcomes in their clinical setting. We look forward to continuing the growth and development of all our members, working towards a common goal to improve services and health outcomes in all of Puerto Rico, creating safe spaces, opportunities, and establishing long-standing, productive collaborations.

Working Together Highlights: Hospital Castañer’s Educational Comic for Migrant populations with Diabetes Mellitus

     Hospital General Castañer and Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN), based in the US, have created an educational comic to empower and educate migrant communities on the different nutritional and monitoring requirements of diabetic patients. The popular comic developed by the MCN team, illustrated by the artist Salvador Sáenz, and adapted in Spanish by Dr. José O. Rodríguez, tackles different scenarios and challenges specific to the migrant population in both the US and Puerto Rico.

• Click to acces the original article and resources
• Puerto Rico version

Funding Opportunities

• Number: HRSA-24-022Title: Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program
  Application Dates: 11/14/2023-02/12/2024
  The HRSA seeks to support the ongoing development of residency programs in rural areas, focused on formation of medical doctors in general primary care and maternal health and obstetrics pathways. 
• Number: HRSA-24-099Title: National AETC Support Center
  Application Dates: 11/09/2023-02/07/2024
  The cooperative agreement is looking to expand coordination and education by NHC of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) and Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) under the AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) of the Ryan White program to increase availability and updated HIV prevention knowledge.
• Number: RFA-PS-24-063Title: Minority HIV Research Initiative (MARI): Epidemiologic, Behavioral, and Implementation Science Research in Racial/Ethnic Minority Communities Disproportionately Affected by HIV and Build Research Capacity Among Historically Underrepresented Researchers
  Deadline: January 16, 2024
  The CDCs look to support high impact public health strategies to reduce disease and disability, managing and preventing HIV/AIDS within ethnic minority communities.