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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