WACO, Texas — At The Waco Family Health Center Dr. Ilianna Neumann, a faculty physician and Fernando Arroyo, the chief of staff are both working with one common goal. They want to serve the underserved, which includes the Hispanic community.
"It's an honor for me to be able to contribute as a a Latino here in Waco and in McLennan County," Arroyo said.
Dr. Neumann has been in medicine more than 20 years and said she loves being able to provide care to her community, especially during a time when the Hispanic community is being disproportionately impacted by Covid-19.
"The reason I started doing it is my mother who was an immigrant from Mexico didn't have good access to care and ended up dying unnecessarily at a young age," Arroyo said.
In McLennan County, the Hispanic community makes up about 20% of the population. When it comes to Covid-19 it has made up about 40 to 50% of all cases. That's due, in part, to language and economic barriers, as well as lack of health insurance.
"We offer services no matter what your citizenship status is, permanent residency status is, and we want to make sure that cost also is not a barrier to access to health care," Arroyo said.
He wants to encourage people to raise awareness and to check in on others during these difficult times.
"Stay in communication, stay in community with one another," Arroyo said. "That dialogue, those discussions, being there for one another are really important."
Dr. Neumann said the pandemic has brought out some of the deep social inequities in our society and she hopes the pandemic brings people closer together.
"I hope that it's made it more apparent to other people the importance of addressing this, because the health of one community in this country affects the health of all of us," Dr. Neumann said.
For more information on the Waco Family Health Center and their services, click here.
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