An Inspired IDEA: Needle Exchange Saves Lives
October 18, 2017
Emelina “Emy” Martinez
Outreach Coordinator
“Everyone deserves compassion and tolerance.”
Emy Martinez is the Outreach Coordinator of the IDEA Exchange. As Outreach Coordinator, she is the liaison between the IDEA Exchange and the community.
Motivated by the death of many of her close friends because of HIV and AIDS, she strives to save as many people as she can beginning one person at a time. Since 1992, Emy has worked with vulnerable populations, especially those who are at most risk for HIV and HCV.
Her experience spans with Care Resources, formerly known as Health Crisis Network, National Latino/ a Lesbian and Gay Organization (LLEGÓ) in Washington DC, Union Positiva in Miami, Miami-Dade County Health Department (FDOH), and the University of Miami.
Twenty-five years later, her passion and drive brought her to the IDEA Exchange where she continues to do her work as an advocate for the community through compassion and tolerance.
Carlos Padron, MPH
Senior Research Associate
“Everyone should have the resources that they need.”
Carlos Padron is a Senior Research Associate at the IDEA Exchange. He functions as the exchanges’ primary source for data collection, management, and analysis.
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Carlos graduated from the University of Miami (UM) with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Business Administration. During his undergraduate career, he started to work as an HIV counselor for Simply Healthcare Plans. There, he developed an interest in the HIV/AIDS population and later became a case manager for people living with HIV/AIDS. He continued his education and received a Master of Public Health (MPH) at UM in 2016.
Before graduating with his MPH, Dr. Hansel Tookes III, MD, MPH, actually guest lectured one of his classes. Fast forward to present day, he now works for Dr. Tookes to improve the health of South Floridians by providing vulnerable populations with the resources that they need.
Hansel Tookes III, MD, MPH
Founder and Medical Director
“Everybody’s life is valuable. Everyone’s.”
Dr. Hansel Tookes, MD, MPH, is the Founder and Medical Director of the IDEA Exchange. As Medical Director, Dr. Tookes works to empower, educate, and serve the communities of South Florida, especially, Miami-Dade County, through harm reduction.
With a passion for behavioral interventions and innovative approaches to HIV prevention, his goal is to continue to conduct translational research that will effect changes in health policy to improve the health of the community. While in the Department of Public Health and in the School of Medicine at the University of Miami, he authored two papers that were highly effective in advocating for the passage of the Infectious Disease Elimination Act (IDEA), Miami’s Pilot Syringe Exchange Program.
While syringe exchange is an evidence-based approach to HIV prevention, he hopes to study other innovative methods of prevention in high-risk populations, such as Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). He has extensive experience in working with low socioeconomic status patients and drug users. He has extensive training on inpatient HIV care and in outpatient continuity HIV care. His experience with his patients has enabled him to be an effective advocate in the State of Florida. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Florida Medical Association and has advocated successfully for health policy change in Tallahassee.