Helen Rodriguez-Trias
Encyclopedia
Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias M.D. (1929–December 27, 2001) was a pediatrician, educator and women rights activist. She was the first Latina president of the American Public Health Association
, a founding member of the Women's Caucus of the American Public Health Association, and the recipient of the Presidential Citizen's Medal. She is credited with helping to expand the range of public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations in the United States, Central
and South America
, Africa
, Asia
, and the Middle East
. After she participated in a poem recital, her teacher realized that she was a gifted child and sent her to a class with gifted children.
In 1948, she began her academic education at the University of Puerto Rico
in San Juan
. The university had a very strong independence movement and Rodriguez-Trias became involved with the student faction of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
. Nationalist leader Don Pedro Albizu Campos
was invited to speak by the student council, however the chancellor of the university, Jaime Rexach Benítez, did not permit Albizu access to the campus. The students consequently went on strike, with Rodriguez-Trias amongst them, but her brother did not approve of this. He threatened to cut off her college expenses and she returned to New York.
In New York, she married and had three children, before she decided to return once more to Puerto Rico to pursue her degree. At the University of Puerto Rico, she became a student activist on issues such as freedom of speech and Puerto Rican independence. She earned her BA degree in 1957 and entered UPR's school of medicine. She earned her medical degree in 1960 and soon after gave birth to her fourth child. During her residency at the University Hospital in San Juan, she established the first center for the care of newborn babies in Puerto Rico. The hospital's death rate for newborns decreased 50 percent within three years. She established her medical practice in the field of pediatrics in the island after completing her residency. During this timeframe she divorced her husband and in 1970 returned to New York.
. At Lincoln Hospital, Rodriguez-Trias lobbied to give all workers a voice in administrative and patient-care issues. She became involved with the Puerto Rican community and encouraged the health care workers at the hospital to become aware of the cultural issues and needs of the community. Rodriguez-Trias was also an associate professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University
, and later taught at Columbia
and Fordham
universities.
During her years in Puerto Rico, Rodriguez-Trias became aware that unsuspecting Puerto Rican women were being sterilized and that Puerto Rico was being used by the United States as a laboratory for the development of birth control technology. In New York, after attending a conference on abortion at Barnard College
in 1970, she focused on reproductive rights of women and became an advocate for women's reproductive rights, campaigning for change at a policy level. In 1970, Rodriguez-Trias was a founding member of Committee to End Sterilization Abuse and in 1971, a founding member of the Women's Caucus of the American Public Health Association. Rodriguez-Trias supported abortion rights, fought for the abolishment of enforced sterilization, and sought that neonatal care to undeserved people be provided. In 1979, Rodriguez-Trias became a founding member of the Committee for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization Abuse and testified before the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for passage of federal sterilization guidelines. The guidelines, which she drafted, require a woman's written consent to sterilization, offered in a language they can understand, and set a waiting period between the consent and the sterilization procedure. She is credited with helping to expand the range of public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations in the United States, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
In the 1980s, Rodriguez-Trias served as medical director of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. She worked on behalf of women from minority groups who were infected with the HIV
virus. In the 1990s, she served as health as CO-director of the Pacific Institute for Women's Health, a nonprofit research and advocacy group dedicated to improving women's well-being worldwide and focused on reproductive. Rodriguez-Trias was a founding member of both the Women's Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus of the American Public Health Association and the first Latina to serve as the president of the APHA.
bestowed upon Rodriguez-Trias, the Presidential Citizen's Medal, the second highest civilian award in the United States, for her work on behalf of women, children, people with HIV and AIDS, and the poor. Later that year, on December 27, Rodriguez-Trias died, a victim of cancer.
American Public Health Association
The American Public Health Association is Washington, D.C.-based professional organization for public health professionals in the United States. Founded in 1872 by Dr. Stephen Smith, APHA has more than 30,000 members worldwide...
, a founding member of the Women's Caucus of the American Public Health Association, and the recipient of the Presidential Citizen's Medal. She is credited with helping to expand the range of public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations in the United States, Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
Early years
Rodriguez-Trias' parents moved to New York City from Puerto Rico in the early half of the 20th century. After her birth, her family returned to Puerto Rico only to return back to New York in 1939. In New York, Rodriguez-Trias experienced racism and discrimination for the sole reason that she was Puerto Rican. In school, she was placed in a class with students that were academically handicapped, even though she had good grades and knew how to speak EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. After she participated in a poem recital, her teacher realized that she was a gifted child and sent her to a class with gifted children.
Puerto Rican independence activist
Rodriguez-Trias's mother was a school teacher in Puerto Rico, however in New York she was not able to get a teacher's license because, at that time, bilingualism was considered a handicap. Therefore, her mother had to take in boarders in order to meet her financial needs and to pay the rent. After Rodriguez-Trias graduated from high school, she decided that she would like to study medicine and that her chances would be much better in Puerto Rico, because the island had a good scholarship system.In 1948, she began her academic education at the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. The university had a very strong independence movement and Rodriguez-Trias became involved with the student faction of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...
. Nationalist leader Don Pedro Albizu Campos
Pedro Albizu Campos
Don Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death...
was invited to speak by the student council, however the chancellor of the university, Jaime Rexach Benítez, did not permit Albizu access to the campus. The students consequently went on strike, with Rodriguez-Trias amongst them, but her brother did not approve of this. He threatened to cut off her college expenses and she returned to New York.
In New York, she married and had three children, before she decided to return once more to Puerto Rico to pursue her degree. At the University of Puerto Rico, she became a student activist on issues such as freedom of speech and Puerto Rican independence. She earned her BA degree in 1957 and entered UPR's school of medicine. She earned her medical degree in 1960 and soon after gave birth to her fourth child. During her residency at the University Hospital in San Juan, she established the first center for the care of newborn babies in Puerto Rico. The hospital's death rate for newborns decreased 50 percent within three years. She established her medical practice in the field of pediatrics in the island after completing her residency. During this timeframe she divorced her husband and in 1970 returned to New York.
Medical career
Rodriguez-Trias headed the department of pediatrics at Lincoln Hospital in the South BronxSouth Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
. At Lincoln Hospital, Rodriguez-Trias lobbied to give all workers a voice in administrative and patient-care issues. She became involved with the Puerto Rican community and encouraged the health care workers at the hospital to become aware of the cultural issues and needs of the community. Rodriguez-Trias was also an associate professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
, and later taught at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Fordham
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
universities.
Advocate for Women's Rights
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
in 1970, she focused on reproductive rights of women and became an advocate for women's reproductive rights, campaigning for change at a policy level. In 1970, Rodriguez-Trias was a founding member of Committee to End Sterilization Abuse and in 1971, a founding member of the Women's Caucus of the American Public Health Association. Rodriguez-Trias supported abortion rights, fought for the abolishment of enforced sterilization, and sought that neonatal care to undeserved people be provided. In 1979, Rodriguez-Trias became a founding member of the Committee for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization Abuse and testified before the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for passage of federal sterilization guidelines. The guidelines, which she drafted, require a woman's written consent to sterilization, offered in a language they can understand, and set a waiting period between the consent and the sterilization procedure. She is credited with helping to expand the range of public health services for women and children in minority and low-income populations in the United States, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
In the 1980s, Rodriguez-Trias served as medical director of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. She worked on behalf of women from minority groups who were infected with the HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
virus. In the 1990s, she served as health as CO-director of the Pacific Institute for Women's Health, a nonprofit research and advocacy group dedicated to improving women's well-being worldwide and focused on reproductive. Rodriguez-Trias was a founding member of both the Women's Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus of the American Public Health Association and the first Latina to serve as the president of the APHA.
Later years
On January 8, 2001, President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
bestowed upon Rodriguez-Trias, the Presidential Citizen's Medal, the second highest civilian award in the United States, for her work on behalf of women, children, people with HIV and AIDS, and the poor. Later that year, on December 27, Rodriguez-Trias died, a victim of cancer.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican scientists and inventors
- Puerto Rican Nationalist PartyPuerto Rican Nationalist PartyThe Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...