SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2006--In an attempt to address major health disparities and lack of accessible health care services among Latinos in San Antonio, a free medication brown bag review and health screening, Tus Medicinas y Tu Salud (Your Medicines, Your Health), will be held on Sunday, Feb. 26 from noon to 4:00 p.m. at La Villita Assembly Hall. The event is expected to draw upwards of 2,000 Latinos -- many whose primary language is Spanish -- for consultations on proper and safe consumption of their current medications, and health screenings for body mass index, glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol. In addition, attendees will have access to advice from leading experts regarding prescription coverage under Medicare Part D plan and receive information on careers in pharmacy and nursing. Tus Medicinas y Tu Salud is a collaboration between Univision Television Group (KWEX-TV, KNIC), Univision Radio, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the San Antonio pharmacy and nursing community on an event that will serve as a template for future events in other communities in the U.S.

"We are very pleased about our partnership with the AACP and the AACN and their member institutions in Texas to provide greatly needed information and services on medication intake," said Jorge Daboub, Vice President Marketing & Business Development for the Univision Television Group. "This partnership allows us to deliver on Univision's initiative; Salud es Vida, Enterate with the goal of further educating, assisting and engaging the Hispanic community."

While there are now an estimated 41.3 million Latinos living in the U.S., access to quality health care remains elusive for many. According to a 2001 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation survey, one-fifth of Spanish-speaking Latinos do not seek medical treatment due to language barriers, and these language barriers significantly compromise health care quality. Furthermore, an estimated 35.3 percent of Latinos are currently without health insurance. The lack of access to quality care contributes to the health disparities of a population that is disproportionately at risk for diabetes and heart disease.

At the Tus Medicinas y Tu Salud event attendees are invited to bring all the medications that they consume on a regular basis including prescription medications, over-the-counter medications and herbal supplements so that practicing pharmacists and fourth year pharmacy students can check that participants are consuming their medications in appropriate dosages, using them properly and safely. Nursing faculty and advanced practice nursing students will work with pharmacists to conduct health screenings for elevated glucose and cholesterol levels, blood pressure and body mass index.

"The complimentary medication reviews and health screenings will allow the Latino community access to consultation that is potentially life-saving," said AACP Executive Vice President Lucinda L. Maine, Ph.D. "Statistics show that when patients receive drug therapy consultation on a regular basis, their risk for ailments and medication errors are minimized significantly. When coupled with health screenings such as glucose, blood pressure and body mass index, the consultation could prove to be life-saving."

"Nursing welcomes this opportunity to share our expertise in health promotion and restoration with families at this very special event," said AACN President Jean E. Bartels, PhD, RN. "We applaud Univision, Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future and the other sponsors for their commitment to reaching out to underserved populations and nurturing the health of San Antonio's Latino community."

The Tus Medicinas y Tu Salud event is an important extension of Univision's Peabody Award Winning health platform launched in 2003, Salud es Vida, Enterate. In partnership with the AACN and the AACP, Univision plans to duplicate the event in a number of key Hispanic communities across the country.

Tus Medicinas y Tu Salud is sponsored by HEB in association with The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, University of Texas Hispanic Center of Excellence, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Nursing, Texas Pharmacy Association, Texas Society of Health System Pharmacists, Texas Federation of Drug Stores and Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future.

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy is a national organization whose mission is to serve its 92 member colleges, schools and their faculties by acting as their advocate on a national level. The Association is committed to education and scholarship for improving drug therapy. For more information visit www.aacp.org

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for university and four-year college education programs in nursing. Representing more than 585 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research, and practice. For more information, see www.aacn.nche.edu.

Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 98 percent of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 86 percent of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavision, the country's leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 62 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 69 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S.

Hispanic markets and 4 stations in Puerto Rico; Univision Music Group, which includes Univision Records, Fonovisa Records, La Calle Records and a 50 percent interest in Mexico-based Disa Records labels as well as Fonomusic and America Musical Publishing companies; and Univision Online, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S. located at www.univision.com. Univision Communications also has a 50 percent interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa's pay television channels in the U.S., and a non-voting 19.8 percent interest in Entravision Communications Corporation, a public Spanish-language media company. Univision Communications is headquartered in Los Angeles with television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.

For more information, please visit www.univision.net.

Copyright Business Wire 2006

AACP - The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

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