Forsyth Medical Center 
2004 News Releases
Forsyth Medical Center Names New Community Health Educator
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August 25, 2004 Contact: Julie Moore, Media and Public Relations (336) 718-4050, (336) 770-9641 (Pager) |
To better serve the healthcare needs of Forsyth County's growing Hispanic population, Forsyth Medical Center's Sara Lee Center for Women's Health (SLCWH) has named Elena de la Torre Corbin, RN, as community health educator. Ms. Corbin will be responsible for creating new health education programs and expanding existing ones offered through the SLCWH.
Ms. Corbin's nursing experience includes labor, delivery and maternal-child care most recently at Forsyth Medical Center and Forsyth Home Care. Before becoming a registered nurse, Ms. Corbin spent several years teaching Spanish at the elementary and high school level. She also served as a bilingual Medicaid eligibility specialist in Henderson County.
Ms. Corbin's position at the SLCWH is funded through a grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust of Winston-Salem. The goal of the three-year, $247,000 grant is to improve access to care and increase educational opportunities for Hispanic women and children in the community.
According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, Forsyth County has the fourth-highest Hispanic population in North Carolina, behind Mecklenburg, Wake and Cumberland counties. In the last 10 years, the number of births by Hispanic mothers at the SLCWH has increased 854 percent. The number of visits to the Forsyth Medical Center Emergency Department by Hispanics also has increased 30 percent.
This growth in demand for health care by the Hispanic population has created a critical need for basic health information in Spanish. In addition to funding Ms. Corbin's position, the Kate B. Reynolds grant will allow the SLCWH to add several new programs, which may include:
- Spanish-language versions of existing childbirth classes, breastfeeding classes and support, and birthing center tours.
- A toll-free phone number Spanish-speaking patients can call with health questions.
- Literature on various health topics in Spanish.
- A community-based program on family planning and reproductive health issues.
- Informal monthly community-based "coffee meetings on a range of womens and childrens health topics.
- A call-in radio talk show on Winston-Salems Spanish-language radio station, Que Pasa Radio (WWBG 1470AM and WTOB 1380AM).
The Sara Lee Center for Women's Health is the second largest birthing center in North Carolina with more than 6,500 births annually. It offers a Level III/IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which has some of the highest success rates in the country in caring for high-risk, low birth weight babies. The center also offers a range of clinical and educational services for women at all stages of life.
