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Interviews
Juanita Reyes
AmeriCorps Worker
Interviewer
Tell us some of the barriers to care that you have. You deal mostly with prenatal patients.
Juanita Reyes
The biggest barrier is un-documentation because of that they can't receive Baby Your Baby or any government services like Medicaid just throughout the process that's a big barrier that most of the patients I see have.
The only one I know of they can get on without any documentation like social security number is the Emergency Medicaid and that's because it's an emergency, but other than that I don't know of one that would assist them.
Interviewer
Emergency Medicaid is in the eighth month, is that right?
Juanita Reyes
So the whole rest of the pregnancy, the patient actually has to pull out of their pocket and pay so it can become a big burden, you know medical bills here and there and even if there is complications during a pregnancy then that adds even more to their... it just escalates from there.
Interviewer
Who do you see specifically?
Juanita Reyes
Who's my population the most? Hispanics, yeah it has to be because there is a couple that are from another country that I don't know, from Africa or something, but those are rare. Most of my patients, or the ones at least I see that go through me are Hispanic.
Interviewer
... Citizens with paperwork, is it pretty easy to get them access?
Juanita Reyes
Oh yes because after you have documentation, social security number or green card or whatever it is, most of our patients already qualify for a sliding scale or in like Baby Your Baby's case most of them qualify for the income. It's actually really rare when they don't.
Interviewer
So what's your day like? What's your job like? Why are you in this clinic?
Juanita Reyes
Well the reason I'm in this clinic is because of AmeriCorps. Here is where my host site is. It's just so great because if it wasn't for AmeriCorps I wouldn't be going to school, I wouldn't be pursuing a college education. It's a program where you have to devote a whole year, and in that year you have to devote a certain amount of time in a host site, which is here, and a certain amount of time on another non-profit organization... you go out into the community and do service projects. It's just the best. I love it because you interact with so many people and just like, was it last week or two weeks ago, all the AmeriCorps throughout the whole state came together and it was just a blast because you get to know different organizations within the AmeriCorps and it's really good because at the end of the year they actually give you a grant for the time you provided, so it's just... I don't know, I don't think I'd be here if it weren't for AmeriCorps.
Interviewer
Describe your job for people who don't know what you do.
Juanita Reyes
I'm the person that providers and MA's send to... let me re-phrase that. I'm the person that patients get referred to when they don't have any documentation. When they don't have any insurance they're usually sent to me so I can be able to somehow get a specialist for them or medication or, in even some cases birth control--a little bit of everything, and it's just you know good to know you can help people that otherwise wouldn't receive the help.
Interviewer
What do you think some of the biggest challenges are in terms of finding care?
Juanita Reyes
It's just a little bit of everything and even language is big thing because even outside of my host site I know people that know they probably don't speak English so I'm not going and a lot of people don't, you know reach out for help because they're scared of that language barrier, and just to inform people that there are others that are there with their same language, with their same needs, with their same everything... just to let them know that there are always people, you know. There's a saying that goes "you can get to the end of the world with just asking questions."
Juanita Reyes
... It just brings up my parents. They immigrated to this country like twenty some odd... almost thirty years ago and it just brings back so many memories. The stories they would tell me about when they got here because my parents... we didn't end up living in Utah. We were actually living in California and that's where I was born and raised, and most of my brothers also, but when my parents got here they were actually working labor; pull crops and vegetables and fruits and, you know bending over and picking them up from the floor, picking them from the trees, and actually I caught some of that you know when I was little. They would take me with them... my dad would be like, "If ... drops just pick it up." And, you know I went along with them so just... I know a lot of things they went through because I was there.
Interviewer
So this is personal for you?
Juanita Reyes
Very. Before my parents were able to get their residency the years after they had barely arrived they would tell me of times where immigration would come in and there would be people running everywhere just because of the way they were scared because they would round them up like cattle. I'm sorry. It's very personal to me because my actual family went through it and I'm glad that we're... you know most of my brothers and sisters were all born here. My parents... they're documented now, but it hits very close.
Juanita Reyes
I know there are people that understand. They understand the concept, but not the actual fear that people go through because I know... you know patients come in and I've known patients that like prenatal patients that come in and they're freaking out because they're going through domestic violence and I had actual one case where she was scared and didn't know what to do and was afraid to call the police... just different situations people go through, just because they're undocumented and it's just a big, big burden on so many people in so many different ways.
Interviewer
But you get to help them.
Juanita Reyes
Yeah... that's... a lot of people are like... just to know that I'm helping them because I know what it's like, not because I was in their shoes but because my actual family went through it and, you know I still know people that are undocumented left and right and I know what they go through because my actual family went through it, so just to know that there's a helping hand that is there, I'm really glad to do it. Even AmeriCorps helps me do it because it's all service, so it's all there.
I know it's a big issue with people that they can't afford their medications so explain those kinds of barriers; you can't afford medication, you can't afford doctor’s appointments.
Juanita Reyes
You know with the medications, they're just so expensive now...
Juanita Reyes
With medications, just because they're so expensive and so many diseases or chronic diseases, I think one thing that's good about this clinic is there's a pharmacy that they... a certain pharmacy they can go to and just get their medications at discounted prices or they can come to me and most of the people that do qualify they just get it even more inexpensive with me so just I think, you know not because I'm placed here as my host site, but I wouldn't want to be in another host site that wouldn't be this one just because of all the resources that come from here and all of the help that's given to patients from here even though some patients are like, they're taking forever, but you know it's just because we take our time with certain patients just because they need more help.
Juanita Reyes
I don't work with just women. I also work with men. For anybody, women or children, that need specialists because they don't have insurance, you know it can cost a lot of money and there's a program where we work with, which has happened, we refer patients to them and I think they only qualification is income with them, and if they qualify for that then even better for them because they can get their services that they need without having to pay an arm and a leg for it. Just a little bit of a lot of things... yeah.
On that aspect (biggest obstacle) I wouldn't see... like this huge obstacle just because of the fact that they come to me. I'm not in the outreach and going out and being like, oh you know here's a place where you can go. It's more like I'm here and they come, unless, which is where people start to talk about that they need this or they need that and in any other case they just come to me. It's just of word of mouth.
It's just the process of asking. There's always, always, always different organizations, different programs that will help in one way or another. It's just a matter of asking.
