Health Care in the Minority Sector

The first article, "Acting on a Grander Scale: Ending Health Care Disparities in the Latino Community", follows the life of Carol Mendez. As a young girl, she grew up in Bogota, Columbia, but after her mother was unexpectedly murdered in a carjacking, she eventually went to go live with her aunts in America. Mendez discusses the hurdles she faced being an immigrant in the US such as learning the new native language and adapting to the new culture. One part of the story that stuck out to me was when Mendez reflected on her cousin's health battle with meningitis. Mendez was only twelve years old, but she took on the role as translator between her family and the physicians. It was then, she says, that she "experienced firsthand the need for bilingual, Hispanic physicians as well as health care professionals who are sensitive to cultural and linguistic barriers" (68). From here, she goes on to talk about how with the support of those close to her, ended up going to college and receiving a higher level of education that should would have had she stayed in Bogota and how she became active in the mission to raise awareness of the health care needs of low-income immigrant Latinas and Latinos.

The next article  also looks into public health, but in a different light. Courtney Turner is an African America woman who grew up in Colombia, Maryland (about twenty minutes away from Baltimore). At an early age, she took an interest in social activism, specifically health promotion and disease prevention. One way in which Turner engaged in this cause was by interning at the Baltimore City Needle Exchange Program."NEPs (also known as harm reduction programs) are public health programs that are often publicly ridiculed and stigmatized for increasing drug use and spreading HIV and hepatitis, and are associated with high-risk behavior practices such as prostitution. In reality, needle exchange promotes the use of sterile needles and injection equipment to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS  and hepatitis while advocating safe sexual behavior among users and their partners" (110). I personally don't agree with this organization. I don't think its beneficial to distribute sterile needles to drug users even if the intentions are good. However, I do think Turner learned valuable lessons from working there, one of those being that there clearly are not enough organizations implemented in the US to promote "healthy behavior practices and lifestyle changes among a high-risk population" (110). In the years that followed, Turner worked in various other divisions of the Baltimore City Department of Health. She worked in a DOT program which distributed HIV medications for those who could not afford it. Turner recounted some of the interactions she had while a part of this program in her article which were really moving. Turner concludes by saying after completing her doctoral degree, she would like to go into public health policy. She acknowledges that health care is a precious resource, but that it is a right and not a priviledge which is not reflected in our health care system today.