Mike Buono is a professor of exercise and nutritional sciences at SDSU. A systemic human physiologist, Buono uses exercise and environmental perturbations to explain physiological control systems in humans. Over the past 20 years, he has published more than 60 papers in the American Journal of Physiology, European Journal of Physiology, Journal of Applied Physiology, Journal of Thermal Biology, Physical Therapy and other journals. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in animal physiology in 1982.
John Golenski is executive director of the George Mark Children's House, a children's respite and end-of-life care facility in San Leandro, Calif., for children with life-limiting or terminal illnesses. All care is informed by the principles of palliative care. Additional support services are available to all family members, and services are provided regardless of a family's ability to pay. Golenski joined the George Mark Children's House after a long career in clinical services, health care ethics and health policy. From 1978 to 1979, he was executive director of the Shanti Project.
Jack Cheevers is the communications director for Region 9 of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency responsible for administering Medicare, Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance (SCHIP), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), and several other health-related programs. Cheevers oversees communications in Region 9, which covers California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Trust territories.
Adela de la Torre, director and professor of the Chicana/o Studies Program, studies health care access and finance issues that affect the Latino community as well as border health issues. From 1996 to 2002, De la Torre was director of the Mexican American Studies and Research Center at the University of Arizona, where she developed and directed the Border Academy, a summer institute that explored issues unique to the U.S.-Mexico border. An economist, De la Torre is the author of "Sana, Sana: Mexican Americans and Health" and "Moving from the Margins: A Chicana's View of Public Policy."
As the fastest growing ethnic population in the United States, Latinos have a major impact on the health care system. Nearly one in three Americans will be Latino by 2050, according to an August 2008 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Latino population is expected to nearly triple from 46.7 million in 2008 to 132.8 million in 2050. As a percentage of the overall U.S. population, Latinos will more than double from 15 to 30 percent.
Native Americans experience higher disease rates than other Americans for problems ranging from diabetes and heart ailments to mental illness and suicides, which contribute to their lower life expectancy. Get tips from a veteran journalist for covering these health issues.
