Monday, April 3, 2017

#theVIPExperience Post #11: Angela Ellis

My experience at Crossroads has truly been an incredible one. I am one of two people who works in the Spanish referral team. As a daughter of an immigrant mother from Peru who herself had often faced adversities, especially in receiving health care, when she first arrived to the US, Crossroads really hit home. The Spanish referral team is much like the other referral teams we have at Crossroads, but it's at the same time very different because we deal with patients who more than often struggle more than the majority of the under-deserved population we cater to. For one, they have a language barrier which can be a huge struggle to get the care and help they need if they have a difficult time explaining what's causing them pain.  

Another issue I often come across is that the majority of our Spanish-speaking patients don't have medical insurance because they're not US citizens and therefore can't qualify for services such as Medicaid. However, thanks to UC University Hospital, they have a financial aid program in which patients can be covered for three months at a time if they don't qualify for Medicaid.  However, this process can be lengthy and often times difficult since they need to apply and have to have the necessary documents for them to get approved. Moreover, the financial aid program only covers them for three months at a time, which means they need to reapply every three months to have coverage of their medical needs. 

Yet, through it all, when patients finally get approved and get the appointments and care they need, it is all worth it because you go step by step with them through the entire process just so that they can get basic medical care. They are eternally grateful and are always so patient. 

The patients at Crossroads, especially the Spanish speaking ones, have allowed me to cater to and help my own community here in Cincinnati. It has shown me the very own issues and problems we're having with healthcare in my own backyard. It have given me a sliver of what I hope to do in the future as a primary care physician catering to those that are most often neglected and ignored when it comes to health care. 

-- Angela Ellis

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