Clinical Care

Happy New Year from all of us at Migrant Clinicians Network! Here’s our weekly rundown of videos, programs, and news stories, on migrant health and beyond, as recommended by MCN’s own staff. 

1. Jillian, Director of Education and Professional Development sent along this interesting infographic on the global tuberculosis epidemic from the WHO.

Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN) applauds the White House’s National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis, which, if implemented, provides a clear and effective path forward to eliminate TB. The National Action Plan, released at the end of December, identifies strategic actions that the US government can take within the next five years to effectively combat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB).

As we begin the countdown to the end of the year, we at Migrant Clinicians Network are celebrating all the successes we have had this year -- and we’re already revving up for a very busy 2016. Support our work: please give to MCN this month. Between now and December 31st, your tax-deductible donations will have double the impact, with our $1 for $1 matching grant. Your donations make a big difference to ensure that we can get our work done!

Another very busy week! Even with the holidays now upon us, we at MCN are still at full speed ahead, fighting for health justice for the mobile poor. Here is a handful of articles that we at MCN found informative and eye-opening this week. We hope you enjoy them too.

At MCN offices across the country, we’re bundling up to keep the December chill out. Our thoughts quickly turn to those who live in homes that can’t keep the wind out -- and to those who don’t have homes at all. As clinicians, we know that such circumstances affect health. This week’s Five on Friday showcases the wide range of concerns we have, and how many circumstances affect the health of underserved populations, from the taste of TB medication to access to clean air and wild places. 

In the United States, a hunger crisis is taking place, and it is likely to get even worse. As of 2012, 49 million Americans suffer from food insecurity, defined by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as lack of access to “enough food for an active, healthy life.” Nearly one-third of those afflicted are children. 

How are health centers challenged by referral relationships in specialty care? How are health centers addressing these challenges? We invite our constituents to nominate health centers with innovative approaches to referral relationships in specialty care. Nominees may be featured in a future issue of Migrant Clinicians Network’s in-print clinical publication, Streamline.

We’re feeling very grateful for the wonderfully vibrant and dedicated community of migrant clinicians that we serve. Thank you for your hard work in the fight for health justice for the mobile poor! Our successes rely on your dedication to serving mobile populations around the country and beyond.

So, before we pull out the stuffing and gravy, we at MCN wanted to share an incredible year of successes in the world of migrant health. Here are our 2015 Health Justice Highlights, in the year so far:

Strife in Central America, scholarships for Mexican Texans, and peer-to-peer phone consultation on substance abuse are some of this week’s stories affecting the health and well-being of mobile patients, shared by MCN staff. 

In 2013, Migrant Clinicians Network created a working group in response to a growing concern throughout Mesoamerica: Why are young men coming into emergency rooms and clinics with cases of chronic kidney disease with no known risk factors? And, critically, is this disease prevalent among migrants to the US? Now, we are asking your help to answer these questions.