Hispanic Clinic offers patients medical care in Spanish

Dr. Maria Doce gives the same advice to Maria Sanchez as she would to any expectant mother with a cold.

Rest, drink plenty of liquids and take Tylenol for aches and fever.

Her words, however, were in Sanchez's native language of Spanish.

That made a difference to the 40-year-old Cedar Rapids woman, who was sick for a week before making it to the monthly Hispanic Clinic at the Community Health Free Clinic, 947 14th Ave. SE.

Funded by a $10,000 grant from the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, the pilot project began in November 2009.

“There was a language barrier between the patients and providers,” Executive Director Darlene Schmidt said, adding that before the clinic, parents would often bring their children to translate.

Having a 10-year-old try to interpret medical terms and medication instructions was a concern.

The clinic uses Spanish-speaking volunteers, from the greeter to registration, from doctors and nurses to the pharmacy.

Schmidt said the clinic fills a need for the growing Hispanic population.

A 2009 census report identified 3,142 Linn County residents in homes where Spanish is spoken. Nearly one-third of those reported English was spoken “less than very well.”

Johnson County had 3,742 Spanish-speakers; nearly half in homes where English is not spoken well.

Those numbers may increase when 2010 census figures are released.

Schmidt approached Doce about volunteering at the clinic after hearing she spoke Spanish.

“I barely got the sentence out and she said, ‘Of course, can we start next week?' ” Schmidt said.

One physician assistant, a nurse and a clerical worker are paid, but the dozen or so others, including Doce, volunteer their time. Doce's husband, Jim Burke, 48, a Kennedy High School Spanish teacher, volunteers in the pharmacy.

“This is the reason I went into medicine,” said Doce, 44, of Cedar Rapids, who attended medical school in her home state of North Dakota and completed a residency at the Cedar Rapids Medical Education Foundation. “We are helping not just the immediate patient, but the entire community.”

For example, diabetes patients have been able to get their conditions under control, sparing amputations and high hospital expenses, she noted.

Research shows patients who don't understand their medication instructions or doctor's advice have a 50 percent increased risk of hospitalization, with annual health care costs four times higher than the general population.

The Hispanic Clinic sees only a fraction of patients compared with the regular clinic, which in 2010 had 4,606 new patients and 13,272 patients served, up 21 percent from the previous year.

In the Hispanic Clinic's first year, 126 visits were made, with an average of 10 patients per clinic.

The Iowa City Free Medical Clinic usually has two interpreters at each clinic, and some health care providers are bilingual, said co-director Sandy Pickup.

Stay-at-home mom Sanchez, whose husband does not have health insurance at work, receives prenatal care at Linn Community Care, a federally funded community health center at 1201 Third Ave. SE. The center has an interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients.

Corridor hospitals have interpreters on staff or use a telephone translation service and staff from the Humble Language Institute, based in Cedar Rapids. Jason Humble, who co-owns the business with his wife, Carmen, volunteers at the Hispanic Clinic.

Schmidt said the Hispanic Clinic will be evaluated at the end of the year to see if it should continue. The clinic is not advertised, but many hear about it through Immaculate Conception Church in Cedar Rapids. Others travel from outside Linn County.

Just as with the regular free clinic, patients are not required to prove whether they have insurance or show any other documentation.

“It doesn't make a difference to us who we're treating,” Schmidt said. “We just treat whoever walks in the door.”