\u201cNo mother wants to lose her child. It’s something extremely painful, that has no cure and there\u2019s no replacement,\u201d Ligia Guardado said. \u201cNothing they say will bring my baby back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immigrant women and mothers in Massachusetts are calling on state officials to investigate complaints of discriminatory and substandard care at East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In July 2020, Guardado noticed her 40-day-old baby, David, seemed tired, listless, and his lips were turning purple. She took him to EBNHC, where she said they listened to his heart and lungs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey said it wasn\u2019t significant,\u201d Guardado said in a Spanish-language interview, reported GBH News. She explained that the appointment lasted around 20 minutes before clinic staff told her son was fine, and to take him home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
David had the same symptoms the following morning, so Guardado returned to the clinic. This time, she said, he was put into an ambulance. David stopped breathing en route to Boston Medical Center and was revived once, but then he stopped breathing completely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen we arrived, they said ‘There was nothing we could do. Your son is deceased,’\u201d Guardado remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patricia Montes, head of Centro Presente, a Boston-based Latino organization assisting the families, says immigrant patients have repeatedly reported substandard, discriminatory treatment at the clinic, resulting in \u201cmisdiagnosis, worsened health conditions, even death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe experiences of these families lay bare not just these broader, systemic issues, but some specific concerns relating to such a trusted institution as the East Boston Neighborhood Health Clinic which was created specifically to address the health care needs of populations such as these Central American immigrant families,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advocates say they\u2019ve identified about ten impacted families and individuals and are interviewing others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cState law forbids health care providers from discriminating on the basis of race, national origin, sex, or MassHealth insurance status,\u201d Iv\u00e1n Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights said in a statement. At a news conference this week, Espinoza-Madrigal argued that the state should still conduct a civil rights inquiry because their evidence shows that immigrants, women and those on public health benefits have borne the brunt of the substandard care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center declined to comment on those and other examples cited by the advocates, reported the Associated Press. The clinic said it sought a meeting with Centro Presente and the families it represents when they first raised the complaints last month, but none agreed to meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also said it’s launching a patient advocate office as part of a broader effort to \u201clisten to our patient voices\u201d that also includes cultural awareness and diversity trainings for medical staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State Attorney General Maura Healey\u2019s office said it plans to meet with the families to hear their concerns; the public health department confirmed it received the complaint and is investigating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EBNHC is the largest community health center in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMore than 70,000 of our patients identify as Latinx, and more than 65% of our office visits are with patients whose primary language is Spanish,\u201d the organization said in a statement. EBNHC\u2018s Interpreter Services Department conducted more than 190,000 interpretations last year in nine different languages using its in-house interpreters alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cover Photo: Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente, stands outside East Boston Neighborhood Health Center as part of a protest in repose to allegations that immigrants have received poor quality care. Photo by Sarah Betancourt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Publisher\u2019s Note: This story is an aggregate from GBH News, Associated Press, WJAR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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