Sharing the Fire: The Origin Story of Latino Health Access with Dr. America Bracho

About this episode

Dr. America Bracho shares the inspiring origin story of Latino Health Access and discusses the pivotal moments that led to its creation.

Welcome to the first full episode of Community Heartbeats. We are honored to be joined by the founder, President, and CEO of Latino Health Access, America Cabracho, to talk about the very beginning. How does a movement start? What was the pivotal moment that revealed a community’s needs were being ignored? America shares the inspiring origin story of Latino Health Access, from her early days in public health and talk radio to the challenges and creative solutions that defined the organization. In this episode, you will hear about: * How the radio program “La Familia y Su Salud” became an unexpected tool for community research. * The realization that the community was “profoundly invisible” and the decision to act. * The “Promotores de Salud” model and why trust is “the currency of change.” * The incredible story of the “tamalada,” selling tamales to fund eye surgeries when no one else would help. * America’s personal wellness practices for staying balanced while leading a high impact organization. This conversation is the foundation of everything we do. It’s about building health, equity, and sustainable change by listening to the community and “sharing the fire.” Subscribe to…

People in this episode

Host: America Bracho

Guest: Dr America Bracho

Topics covered

• origin story
• community health
• public health
• social change

Keywords

• community needs
• Promotores de Salud
• tamalada
• wellness practices

Mentioned in this episode

Products: La Familia y Su Salud

Books & works: Sharing the Fire: The Origin Story of Latino Health Access, Community Heartbeats, La Familia y Su Salud

Places: America

More episodes of Latino Health Access | Community Heartbeats

• Mensaje de Año Nuevo de la Dra. América Bracho: Tu Voz, Tu Poder · January 13, 2026 · 2 min
• From Diabetes to Building Parks: Dr. America Bracho on True Community Health · October 23, 2025 · 42 min
• Welcome to Community Heartbeats (Trailer) · October 23, 2025 · 1 min