Press Release

UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
UMDNJ and Local Organizations Host 4th Annual Latino Health Festival

The 4th Annual Latino Health Festival sponsored by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is scheduled for Friday, June 25, from noon to 6 p.m., at Branch Brook Park (between Park Avenue and First Street) in Newark. The theme for the event is "It's Better To Know: Take the Test and Take Control."

The Latino Health Festival was established by UMDNJ to promote healthy families and to provide health education information about illnesses that disproportionately affect the Latino community. The City of Newark and several community-based organizations are co-sponsoring this family-oriented event.

In addition to HIV and AIDS screenings, health professionals will conduct screenings and distribute information about the diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, glaucoma and oral cancer. Admission to the event, which will also feature music, entertainment and food, is free.

The primary goal of the health fair is to increase awareness of National HIV Testing Day which will be held on Sunday, June 27. The National Association of People with AIDS created the National HIV Testing Day campaign in 1995 to encourage at-risk individuals to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing.

"According to the HIV Health Services Planning Council, almost 15 percent of the people in the greater Newark area who have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS are Hispanic," said Dr. Robert L. Johnson, interim chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine (DAYAM) at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. "A report by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services indicates that Hispanics represented 22 percent or 4,530 cases of HIV/AIDS reported in 2003."

DA`YAM's The Spend Time on Prevention (STOP) Mobile-Unit Outreach Program, which provides HIV and AIDS testing, counseling and support services for adults and adolescents in Newark and the surrounding Essex County communities will be at the event along with representatives from UMDNJ-University Hospital.

For additional information about this year's Latino Health Festival, call Eligia Reyes at 1-800-249-7750 or (973) 972-8216.

###