OUR HISTORY

In 2011 Executive Director of Iowa Department of Public Health-Office of Minority and Multicultural Health*, Janice Edmund-Wells, challenged Di Daniels, a member of the OMMH advisory committee, to form a multicultural health coalition in Storm Lake, Iowa where she had recently taken up residence.

The coalition came together quite easily with women who had a passion to serve and improve their community. The majority of these women were Latina, but all insisted that the coalition strive to make itself as diverse as possible in order to serve all members of their community. Storm Lake consists of approximately 13,000 people, with 27-30 different cultural and language groups. Soon after, two members of the newly formed coalition, Jeaneth Ibarra and Pam Bogue, were also named to the OMMH Advisory Committee.

The name SALUD was chosen because it means 'health' in Spanish and also stands for: Serving, Advocating, Learning, Understanding and Diversity. The coalition is open to all and currently consists of men and women who are committed to the complete well-being of all in the Storm Lake community. 

SALUD! envisions a Storm Lake community that values diverse leadership as essential to achieving equitable opportunities for the health and well-being of all.

We achieve this by advancing equity in health and well-being through:

• Holding spaces for authentic dialogue.

• Inviting community members to co-create and shape responses to community needs.

• Empowering compassionate leaders that mirror the diversity of Storm Lake.

  
  

  *The Office of Minority and Multicultural Health disbanded in 2017 when it was defunded by the IDPH.