TULSA, Okla — In 2016, Harvard published a study that found that $1.7 billion and almost 2,000 lives were lost due to healthcare miscommunication.
Uma Tulsa is a non-profit that aims to help individuals with both physical and mental health.
They said about 70 percent of the people they help haven’t been to the doctor’s office in more than a year- and that is largely attributed to the language barrier many people face.
They decided to host the 918 Health Fair, which provides free mammograms, physicals, and health resources.
Lorena Zuaznabar is a volunteer with Uma Tulsa, but has faced her own issues with healthcare access.
“For me, it’s taken a lot to sort of get used to the language," she said, "You really need to listen and pay attention because everyone pronounces everything differently.”
Zuaznabar knows firsthand what it’s like to not be able to have adequate healthcare and why it’s so important to keep up with physicals.
“One of the biggest issues we have worldwide is cancer," she said. "It’s one of the gravest sicknesses we deal with, I lived through it with my mother.”
Zuaznabar said another issue that affects the Hispanic and Latino community is financial troubles- especially regarding health insurance.
"I don’t have it," said Marlidys Johana Suarez. "A lot of times, we don’t know anything about it or they’re just too expensive.”
“Because of everything we need to do at work or around the house, we don’t put aside any time for our health and that is very important. If we don’t have health, we don’t have anything.”
She said between bills and making sure her basic needs are met, she just can’t afford health insurance.
According to the City of Tulsa’s equality indicators report, the percentage of white Tulsans with health insurance is 32 percent higher than Hispanic and Latinx Tulsans.
Fran Trujillo with Trujillo Medical is hoping to bridge the gap between access to quality healthcare in Hispanic and Latino communities.
“I'm an immigrant, grew up as an undocumented child with lack of health insurance, and I remember not having access to health care," she said.
"I am offering low cost primary care to uninsured patients in the community," said Trujillo. "I'm also now processing insurance to allow those that have insurance that are underinsured, you know, where they have high co pays and deductibles, to where they have access to quality care.”
Community members like Suarez and Zuaznabar are appreciative of the strides people in Tulsa are making to help provide better healthcare access for everyone.
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