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The goal of the Refugee Health Program (RHP) is
to be a leader in providing culturally sensitive health services
to persons who have fled their home country due to persecution
(political, religious, or economic) in search for a better life
and self-sufficiency in America. The RHP reviews overseas
medical examination records and provides domestic health
screenings and immunizations to refugees to enhance personal
health status and protect Floridas public health. The RHP
provides these services through funding from the Office of
Refugee Resettlement and the Florida Department of Children and
Families, Refugee Services.
Florida is a national leader in refugee
resettlement, receiving the largest volume of participants in
the United States Refugee Resettlement Program. The state
received a three-year total (2006-2008) of 70,627 participants,
while California received 29,242, Texas received 13,949, New
York received 13,068 and Minnesota received 10,970. In spite of
Floridas large volume of refugees, the RHP has achieved a
completion rate of over 92% for refugee domestic health
assessments.
The RHP serves the following groups
of individuals: refugees, asylees, Cuban/Haitian asylum
applicants, Cuban/Haitian entrants, Amerasians, Iraqi/Afghan
special immigrants, and certain victims of severe forms of human
trafficking.
The majority of participants who currently
resettle in Florida originate from Cuba, Haiti, or Burma. Most
of Floridas new arrivals are Cuban entrants, although the state
is experiencing a greater influx of refugees and special
immigrants, particularly from Bhutan and Iraq. Of the 67
counties in Florida, 33 receive refugees on a regular basis.
Geographically, new arrivals tend to resettle more frequently in
one of eight Florida counties: Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Duval,
Palm Beach, Broward, Orange, Collier, or Lee.
To
contact the RHP in your area, view our
RHP contact listing
(pdf 89.0 kb). |
