West Jefferson Medical Center, part of the LCMC Health system, announced the grand opening of its Centro Hispano de Salud, a Hispanic-first clinic located at 1111 Medical Center, Ste. S640 in Marrero. The clinic is the first of its kind in the area and its mission is to deliver health, care, and education beyond extraordinary to the growing and historically underserved Hispanic/Latino community.
The clinic, led by Magaly Sotres, MD, and Jose Cusco, MD, aims to empower Spanish-speaking patients by putting them back in charge of their own health. Through this initiative, West Jefferson Medical Center is focused on removing traditional language barriers and social factors that have historically interfered with access to timely, high-quality healthcare to the Hispanic community. Some of these patient factors include:
• Communication with healthcare providers in a non-dominant language.
• Navigation of the complex healthcare system.
• Misinterpretation of providers' guidance.
More than 28% of Hispanics recognize that they are not proficient in English and as such, the clinic intends to provide consistent healthcare with bilingual staff who are sensitive to the patients’ cultural background. This approach has shown to improve health outcomes because it allows patients to understand their situations better which, in turn, increases the likelihood that patients will follow health recommendations. The clinic will emphasize prevention and well-being through chronic disease management, screening programs, vaccinations, and the participation of various health professionals such as nutritionists, pharmacists, and social workers. The clinic, completely staffed by Spanish speaking doctors, nurses, and support staff, plans to develop a holistic approach based on the growing, specific needs of the Hispanic population.
“This initiative fulfills a dream that I’ve had for a long time. I was determined to do my part to improve the quality of life for the Hispanic/Latino people in this area,” said Juan J. Gershanik, MD, the visionary and leading advocate of the Centro Hispano de Salud. “I became more and more aware of the inequities in the Hispanic community and how these inequities, namely in healthcare—a subject very dear to me and my profession, affected the community’s well-being.”