HEALTH EQUITY

Sama Sama Tayo sa Kalusugan - Healthier Together

The Sama Sama Tayo sa Kalusugan – Healthier Together program aims to make sustainable health systems change that will positively impact the health and wellness of the Ketchikan Filipino population.

In collaboration with Peacehealth Ketchikan Medical Center, the program will utilize community-led change processes to improve Filipino community health access and outcomes. The Sama Sama Tayo project will engage a coalition of community advocates aimed to lift Ketchikan’s Filipino voices and empower them to drive the needed changes within the local health care system. The success of this program will be shared with other communities to make sustainable long-lasting change

 

Current Activities

Hats Off To Health

This monthly activity started in January 2022, providing opportunities of learning, engagement, and access to a variety of health topics impacting the Filipino community.   

  • Medicaid applications - January
  • CPR/AED Training - February
  • Weekly elder exercise class - March
  • Research Interviews - April
  • Blood pressure screening - May

Upcoming topics will include addressing the mental health stigma, advance health care directives, healthy cooking classes, exercise challenges, and important health screening checks.

Halo-Halo Mix-Mix Podcast

 Filipinos are deeply rooted in Ketchikan and Alaskan culture, but how much do we really know about our neighbors? The podcast will shed some light on questions such as are we all really related? Why do Filipinos talk so loud sometimes? And what’s with them pointing with their lips?

Aside from the fun and light hearted subjects, guests and host Archie Inoncillo will be talking about taboos in the Filipino culture like talking about mental health, generational barriers, and other stigmas.

Join us as we all get to know each other a little better and share a little flavor in our lives.

"Like everyone else, we're trying to navigate life as best we can, but oftentimes we can be misunderstood through our actions."

Archie Inoncillo, Halo-Halo Mix-Mix Host

Community Research

This study aims to further explore the reasons why Filipinos in Ketchikan choose not to seek health care.  This data will provide context about the experience of Filipinos in the health system, any key challenges in access, experiences of bias/racism, microaggressions, and perceptions.  Interviews will be done during the months of April-June.   

Results will be shared with the community.

Gallery

Grant Funded

Funding for the three year program (2021-2024) is through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Solutions for Health Equity grant, the largest health philanthropic foundation in the USA.