WHYY’s ‘The Pulse’ community event raises awareness and promotes care around diabetes in Latino communities

Attendees were offered free health screenings to monitor blood pressure and sugar levels, and were connected with local health organizations.

Cory Sharber

Updated Jun. 4, 2025 12:59 pm

Maria del Pilar Aparicio is a diabetes specialist at Temple Health. She spoke Tuesday evening aiming to dispel the fears associated with being diagnosed with diabetes. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

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WHYY invited community members to the Esperanza Arts Center to raise awareness and promote care around diabetes and related health conditions in Latino communities.

Those who attended were able to receive free health screenings to monitor blood pressure and sugar levels, as well as connect with local organizations providing health resources.

Tuesday’s event was moderated by WHYY’s Maiken Scott, who hosts “The Pulse“, to discuss preventative health measures with emergency room doctor José Torradas, diabetes specialist Maria del Pilar Aparicio and dietitian Dalina Soto.

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Médicos Unidos co-founder and ER doctor José Torradas discussed the stresses that a diabetic diagnosis can bring out, as well as the additional troubles that can occur when tackling one's health. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)
Dalina Soto, a dietitian and author, discussed the issues with access to healthy foods and the variations between different cuisines that allow for people to eat healthy. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)
WHYY's Maiken Scott moderated the conversation Tuesday night at Esperanza. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

Much of the discussion was centered around dispelling misinformation surrounding diabetes.

Del Pilar Aparicio said that patients regularly “feel overwhelmed because there are a lot of details you have to pay attention to and you never have a break.”

Soto acknowledged the impact stress can have on someone with diabetes, specifically their blood sugar levels. She said stress can also be impacted through the lack of access to healthy foods, which can further complicate the outcome of someone with diabetes.

“Sometimes you can do everything right and things can still happen,” Soto said. “Genetics plays a big role, and also, just your day-to-day … We’re working 12, 13, 14 hours a day, our stress is through the roof and then we have to eat at the fast-food places that are all over the place.”

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Torradas said that, in addition to managing one’s diet, making sure their mental health is taken care of is key to living healthy with diabetes.

“That’s going to require a level of commitment that if you’re depressed because you don’t see a way out of your living situation, that becomes a big issue,” Torradas said. “It is so layered that tackling one issue of diabetes just opens up this huge Pandora’s box of all the social determinants of health that put us in where we are now.”

Attendees were able to get their blood pressure and sugar levels checked, as well as receive access to info on diabetes and healthy food during the event. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)
Attendees were able to get their blood pressure and sugar levels checked, as well as receive access to info on diabetes and healthy food during the event. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)
WHYY Vice President of News Sarah Glover welcomed those in attendance to Esperanza for a discussion on the impacts of diabetes within Latino communities. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

On Wednesday, WHYY will host the “Caregiving” screening and resource fair at its Old City headquarters at 150 N. 6th St. at 4 p.m. The documentary, created with executive producer Bradley Cooper, highlights the challenges and triumphs of caregiving in America. The screening will be followed by a discussion moderated by Marty Moss-Coane, the host of WHYY’s “The Connection.” The event is free to the public. Registration is required.

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