Immersion Spotlight: Jaime Pérez, Class of 2022
Major: Medicine, Health, and Society
Minor: Business
September 10, 2020
Hello everyone! My name is Jaime Pérez and I was born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. I am currently a junior at Vanderbilt, where I am majoring in medicine, health, and society and a member of the school’s Association of Latin American Students (ALAS). Because of my fluency in Spanish (I am a native speaker) and English, and my dedication to service and to the Latinx community, I volunteer at the Shade Tree Clinic (STC) in Nashville. The STC is a Vanderbilt University Medical Center-run clinic that provides free care to people without health insurance in Tennessee. A significant percentage of those who receive care are members of the Latinx community who have come to the United States in search of a better life, but are not proficient in English and may have difficulties communicating with healthcare providers; this is where I come in.
As a volunteer translator, my role is to facilitate communication between the doctors and medical students providing the service and the non-English dominant patient receiving care. I serve as the patient’s voice for everything they want to say and I share the medical care providers’ thoughts; I work as the in-between for some very important conversations. I also help patients check-in, move around the facility, and complete any other requests that are asked of me.
For this school year, I hope to give you all a glimpse into what I do and all the great work that goes on at the Shade Tree Clinic. I hope to write a blog once month when I am at the clinic. Finally, I also want to shine a light on those we serve at the Shade Tree Clinic.
October 10, 2020
Hey everyone! I just finished another successful remote shift for the Shade Tree Clinic. My first call went smoothly and we were able to provide the patient with the guidance and help they needed. Unfortunately, the second patient of the day did not answer, so we were unable to aid them, but that appointment will be rescheduled. Two patients is much less than the amount I usually work with, but this is not surprising – there have been a lot less patients since the Covid-19 pandemic started and the Clinic had to shift to a hybrid model.
It is important to acknowledge how much the pandemic has changed the roles and experiences of everyone at STC. Doctors and medical students are mostly working from their homes or offices, translators are answering calls through Zoom or our phones, and patients only go to the clinic for tests or medicine pick-ups. With all of my work being done from home, I don’t get to interact with STC workers and patients as much as I used to or would like to. It has also made everyone’s job a little more difficult: providers cannot provide the same type of care, there is a lag between us translators receiving information and relaying it, and patients are not getting physically checked. But the STC is doing everything in its power to make healthcare possible for our patients, given the circumstances. I’m proud of how we have adapted to the new “normal” and I know that we all still have the same passion to serve the community, especially in these times of need, which is what inspires me during every single shift.
Until next time!
November 10, 2020
I just got out of my third remote shift–my first Tuesday night one since I returned to Nashville. The first patient of the day was unfortunately not able to make it to the Zoom call (which I’ll dive into soon). We had a really long appointment with the second patient, but the STC was able to put them in a great position moving forward. In some good news, the Clinic has begun/started offering some in-person appointments, and this patient attended one of them, so it was great to see members of the STC community back inside the care rooms (even though I was seeing them through a screen). Because of the second call’s length, I was unable to make it to the third patient, but fortunately, they still received proper care.
One of the many issues we’ve seen exacerbated since the start of the pandemic has been the disparity in technological resources for different populations in the United States. Since I started working remote shifts in May, this problem has been evident, as many of our patients struggle to access Zoom or figure out how to attend an appointment through a phone call. It is lamentable that, as the telehealth industry is booming for many, others are struggling to receive the available care that they need and want. A lot of people in this country, including many STC patients, are dealing with a lack of resources, which impacts their lives in a multitude of ways. I think it’s important for us as a society to recognize this disparity and look for ways to fix it.
Next week is my last week of classes before we head out for Thanksgiving break. I’m very thankful to have had the opportunity to be in Nashville this semester, but I cannot wait to be back home.
Stay safe everyone!
December 5, 2020
Today was my last remote shift of 2020. This time, I worked from my room in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico instead of Nashville. We went 2 for 2 on patients today, so that worked out perfectly! The first appointment went smoothly, except for the occasional slow-down in connection. The second patient initially had issues connecting to Zoom and talking with us, but once that was figured out, we had absolutely no issues.
Last week was Thanksgiving (I hope you all enjoyed some pie!) and I am thankful that I was able to be home and spend the day with my family. It’s always great to be back after being away for a few months. Unfortunately, COVID-19 cases are rising everywhere in the US and at an alarming rate; the virus continues to disproportionately affect minority communities, including Latinx people, because of a multitude of reasons. 2020 has been a very tough year for all us and it seems like this will continue into 2021. Over the next few weeks, the holidays will kick in and we’ll be able to celebrate with our loved ones. Even though we’ll all have to stay in our homes and avoid traveling to contain the virus, this holiday season is another moment for us to be thankful for what we do have. Please look out for your loved ones and stay safe. It’ll be a new year next time I write.
Happy Holidays!
February 6, 2021
Hey everyone! I just finished my first in-person shift of 2021. I had not stepped foot in the Shade Tree Clinic since February of last year and it felt awesome to be back. The Clinic was the same as it was before I left campus, except for the socially-distanced chairs and everyone wearing masks (stay safe people!). In an interesting twist, today’s shift was not like the usual ones (which is what I was expecting). Instead of being in the room with the patients and providers, I helped out the front desk, the dispensary, the laboratory, and anyone else that needed interpreting. It was also my longest shift in a while–5 hours! But I was busy and on my feet for most of it, which made it another really enjoyable experience. Between reading labels, asking survey questions, explaining why a sphygmomanometer (blood pressure monitor) is more reliable in the clinic than those used at home, I worked with over a dozen STC members and patients. I hope I can routinely be back in-person at the clinic sometime soon; next time, I’ll be working remotely.
Well, this is my first blog in 2021. After what was one the most difficult, arduous, and tiring years for basically everyone, we are starting the new one with some level of hope. Vaccination rates have been going up (I’ll cover that soon in another blog) and COVID-positive rates are currently going down. I believe the page will start to turn for the better. Volunteering in a place like the STC inspires me to trust that our situation will improve. After a drop in workers during the Spring and Summer months of 2020, the Clinic has been working to full capacity since the Fall. Today was no different, and I saw how everyone – from the administrators to the providers and the social workers to the pharmacists – is working toward the same goal of keeping the Nashville and Vanderbilt community safe. Working to achieve our mission should be our only option.
Here’s to a better year!
March 6, 2021
Hey everyone! I completed another Shade Tree Clinic shift today; though this one was from my desk in my apartment unit. I talked to two different patients while working with the same medical student and doctor. Both patients are doing well and their health is improving, which is always great to hear. Besides discussing their different needs and ailments, in each call, we were able to give the patients some very, very exciting news: starting Monday, they are now eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine!!! Both were glad to hear that and will be in contact with the STC for the next steps in the process.
The fact that they will be vaccinated is important for many reasons. First, it will increase their odds of staying healthy in the middle of a dangerous pandemic. Second, them being inoculated improves public health in the Nashville community. But the main reason I believe this is significant progress is because of how minority communities are way behind in vaccination rates. According to former CDC director Tom Frieden, “Black and Latinx Americans have 2–3x risk of hospitalization and death but only half the likelihood of being vaccinated”. At the same time, vaccination skepticism is higher among Black and Hispanic populations and lower-income households (NYTimes ). Working with the STC, I have witnessed this skepticism first-hand from patients, which is why we try to inform our patients as much as possible on the positive effects of getting vaccinated. As of March 5th, the vaccination rate for Black Americans is half of that for white people, while the number for Hispanic people is even lower (below, I have attached several articles with more information on the subject). This disparity will only cost more minority lives, make herd immunity within the United States harder, and affect some communities more than others, meaning that health outcomes within minority populations will worsen and health inequalities will only be amplified. Another issue with the vaccine rollout has been anti-immigrant sentiment across southern states. In Tennessee, the names and addresses of those who have tested positive for Covid-19 are being shared with law enforcement officials (due to a law signed by Gov. Bill Lee) and the state has a history of having immigration agents patrolling clinics, which has made immigrants wary of getting tested and vaccinated ( KHN ).
This disparity in vaccination rates and sentiment is a major issue that is impacting millions of people across the US, and the state and federal governments need to do a better job of improving the situation and transforming the narrative. It’s on all of us to fight for health equity.
See you in a few weeks!
Sources:
May 15, 2021
Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Sorry for the over two-months-long gap in blogs, but my April 6 and May 11 shifts were canceled for different reasons. I signed up for another remote shift today, May 15, but there were not enough Spanish-speaking patients, so I was once again unable to interpret. I am definitely sad that I have not been able to help out at the STC the past few months, but I look forward to my shifts in June. On the bright side, I am back home in Puerto Rico. I finally completed my junior year and I am incredibly excited for my senior year. Overall, it was a successful year both in the classroom and at the Shade Tree Clinic.
As I discussed in my last post, this pandemic has only exacerbated health inequalities and it continues to do so. There is currently a vaccination gap among the Hispanic population in the United States when compared to other groups. This is mostly due to a lack of access to vaccination sites and information. Throughout the pandemic, the Hispanic population in the United States has had some of the highest case, hospitalization, and death rates in the country. While the US is beginning to relax Covid-19 restrictions as more and more people get vaccinated, Latinos make up only 13% of those vaccinated despite being 17% of the national population. Outside of the United States, Latin America is currently facing its worst moment of the pandemic, which is combining with political and/or economic crises in many countries.
Of all the data and statistics I have seen, the one number that impacted me the most was that non-English speakers had a 35% higher chance of death from Covid-19 ( KHN ). At the same time, research has shown that Spanish-speaking patients are less likely to use telemedicine. While these numbers are worrying, they have only helped cement my passion for contributing at the Shade Tree Clinic. Those of us who work at the clinic are making a difference in the lives of so many Latinos in the Nashville community. What we do at the STC matters and we are all proud of that. It seems like we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel as a country with our domestic vaccination rates and states and cities ‘opening up,’ but there is still a lot of work left to be done in improving health inequalities in the US. As a proud member of the Latino community and future member of the healthcare industry, this is a battle I plan to continue fighting. I can’t wait to be back in Nashville in August and working at the Shade Tree Clinic.
To all who have read, thank you for following the blog. I hope I was able to successfully talk about what it means to be a Latino in the United States.
Best,
Jaime Pérez
Sources: