Swine flu fears dominate Elkhart County’s Hispanic community

By Ed Ernstes (ernstes@wsbt.com)

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Swine flu has been the topic of conversation for the last few days at WKAM Radio in Goshen. (WSBT photo)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Apr 29, 2009 at 3:27 PM EST

Story Updated: Apr 29, 2009 at 5:26 PM EST

ELKHART — With a confirmed case of the swine flu next door in St. Joseph County, Elkhart County is planning for the worst but hoping for the best. The outbreak has gotten the attention of many in the Hispanic community there, since 150 people in Mexico have died from the virus.

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For a big part of Elkhart County's large Hispanic and Latino population, WKAM Radio in Goshen is their source for information. For the last few days, swine flu has been the topic of discussion.

“Our listeners always ask about the situation in Mexico, and they want to know what the problem is, how far it’s going to go,” said Nacho Zepeda of WKAM. “Most of our listeners canceled vacations to Mexico.”

Since the swine flu outbreak first made headlines, Diana Montiel has been on the air. She is the Hispanic-Latino outreach coordinator for Elkhart General Hospital.

“We are just trying to help keep the community strong,” she told WSBT News. “We received, on our help line, calls from people who have been wondering if there was an outbreak in Elkhart County, if we are prepared.”

And being prepared was the subject of a panel discussion at the county health department Wednesday morning.

“We have worked very close with the different hospitals in the area, the physicians and other agencies, on how we're going to respond,” said Dr. Aixsa Perez of the Elkhart County Health Department.

“To this moment we don't have a confirmed case in Elkhart County, but if we were to get a confirmed case, we want to address it in the same fashion, the same manner, as everyone else,” added Jennifer Tobey of Emergency Management.

As part of the overall efforts to keep the community informed, the Elkhart Community School System will be sending out information letters with students later this week.

“Giving them suggestions for how they might help keep themselves and their families healthy,” explained John Hutchings with Elkhart Schools.

The Elkhart County Health Department is coordinating contingency plans with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the County Emergency Management Agency.

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