Workforce Language Services

A news story out of Columbia, SC, where the Hispanic population is 14%, reports that Hispanics are not receiving adequate healthcare. Specifically, certain perceived limitations, like having a foreign accent or not knowing a doctor, are preventing Latinos from receiving the care they need.

[Latinos are] three times less likely to have a consistent source of medical care and one and a half times more likely to use the emergency room as a primary source of healthcare. Making unnecessary trips to the emergency room is one of the most common mistakes Hispanics make, and it can cost them hundreds of dollars.

The article report on some recent data from the Pew Hispanic Center:

• 46 percent say they believe their accent contributed to their poor care.
• 43 percent say they believe their inability to pay contributed to their poor care.
• 37 percent say they believe their race or ethnicity caused them to receive poor care.

A group called “Promotoras de Salud” is trying to get information out to the Latino population about where to go when sick and other resources that will help make their experience with health care more successful.

Read the full article here.