Helping Latinos habla health
HOLE HEALTH, Jackson Hole News&Guide, Wednesday, May 1, 2013 - 23
Many programs available in Teton County.
I
n a seasonal job market, health insurance isn’t a guarantee and affordable health care is not always available. Those problems can be compounded when you’re battling a language barrier in a health care system that already is jargon-laden. Getting care often is more of an ideal than a reality. For Teton County’s Latino population, these are the most common obstacles to all kinds of care, from annual physicals to chronic pain. “We have a primarily first-generation adult population here, meaning we have basically the immigrant population and their children,” said Vida Sanchez, executive director of El Puente. “Even if they speak English well enough to navigate through the work environment, they might not speak English well enough to navigate the health care system. It’s a very high register of the language at every step, even when you’re figuring out where to go.” These are problems across Wyoming, according to a survey of health care disparities compiled by the Wyoming Department of Health. Latinos are less likely than whites to get affordable care when they’re pregnant, less likely to live above the poverty level and less likely to be able to afford their health care. In Teton County those factors hold true but are generally considered to be caused by the area’s seasonal economy. Programs have sprung up to help reverse the trends, and many of those who deal directly with the Latino community spend a great deal of their time finding programs that can help a family receive the right care. Where Teton County differs most is in the number of programs set up to help and the number of medical providers who have relationships with such organizations, Sanchez said. Along with El Puente, the Latino Resource Center provides guidance about dealing with the health system as part of an effort to help Latinos assimilate. Even organizations whose primary beneficiaries aren’t Latinos are aware of the issues for that community and often know where to send them. “It’s really very unusual in smalltown U.S.A. to have the awareness and the generosity you do here in Jackson,” she said. “Parts of our medical community are very generous to the uninsured and without that piece, access would definitely suffer.” El Puente provides medical translation and financial guidance to people who aren’t fluent in English. Sanchez estimates that El Puente serves at least two thirds of that group in the county. Some barriers to care are cultural.
Health disparities Statewide, barriers to health care access for Latino families lead to several serious disparities in their health compared with white families. According to the Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Wyoming 2012 Report, Hispanic families in Wyoming are more likely than white families to: •have lower median family incomes •not receive prenatal care in the first trimester •not receive any prenatal care •have children without continuous health insurance •smoke and drink while high school students •smoke as an adult •be overweight or obese •have fair or poor health •not get care due to cost Bonnie Pockat, the maternal and child health coordinator at Teton County Public Health, sees many women who enter the American care system for the first time when they’re pregnant. “A lot of women who came here from Mexico or a South American country, well, their medical systems are different,” she said. “They’re used to just showing up at a clinic. A lot of these women are learning how to navigate our system.” The number of families with children who are U.S. citizens has increased, she said, but parents don’t always know they can get health insurance for their kids through Medicaid. Pockat said her department helps families that don’t realize they could be getting help. Often all that’s needed to connect a family to care is a guide, whether a translator or someone from Pockat’s staff, Sanchez said. While insurance affordability, benefit eligibility and other issues are part of bigger policy and voting decisions, it is the day-to-day work of setting up payment schedules, answering billing questions and dealing with a system that’s Byzantine even to native speakers that helps. “A big piece of being able to improve access is reducing that chaos and confusion,” Pockat said. “I would say in general that our community, for being a small town in Wyoming, does an amazing job at improving health care access for our Latino population, and it’s mostly by paying attention to those areas where we can help.”
THE AVERAGE PERSON WALKS
100,000 MILES A LIFETIME.
WE KEEP JACKSON MOVING. Specialized Treatment In: • Flat Foot Reconstruction • Neuromas • Hammertoes • Toe Nails • Bunions • Sports Injuries • Heel Spurs • Warts • Diabetic Foot Care • Child Foot Care • Foot & Ankle Sprains & Fractures • Foot Gear (Orthotics)
AMBULATORY FOOT & ANKLE CLINIC Now seeing patients at St. John's Family Health & Urgent Care Se Habla Español
Karson K. Howard D.P.M.
Feet Hurt? Why Suffer?
(208) 233-4355 • (307) 200-9353 155 E. Clark, Pocatello, ID
(307) 739-8999 Hwy 89, Smiths Plaza, Jackson
253982
By Emma Breysse
NIHF AND THE SORENSONS ARE BACK, & HAVE ESTABLISHED ONE OF THE
TOP RANKED WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS IN THE COUNTRY.
Are you ready for a life changing experience?
Michael W. Rosenberg, MD, FACS
Do you want to start losing weight but don’t know where to begin?
• Treatment of malignant • Abdominal surgery including: and benign breast diseases Treatment of chronic and complex wounds Laparascopic gallbladder surgery • Colonoscopy and upper endoscopy Laparascopic appendectomy • Pacemaker insertion Colon surgery • Pacemaker/defibrillator replacement Hernia surgery
557 East Broadway • Jackson, WY 83001 • 307-733-0422 Seeing patients in Jackson and Driggs
253264
Are there too many programs that are too expensive?
COME AND JOIN US
at the National Institute of Health and Fitness Let the experts show you how to lose weight, live healthy and feel good. Our weight loss program is considered to be the best value—without the loss of luxury. Come join the Sorensons’ no-hunger weight-loss program!
Visit www.nihf.com or call 888-798-6443
253970