“Pregnant?” I asked the man. “Is
your wife pregnant?” He replied yes, and something about Medicaid, which was
not uncommon, as I often assist pregnant women with their Medicaid for
Pregnancy applications. I could tell right away that his wife would benefit
from the Healthy Start program, which is a free and voluntary service in
Florida to help women have and care for a healthy baby. Because of the
extensive outreach I do in the community about the Healthy Start program, I
often get phone calls of pregnant women who need assistance. But this phone
call was different. In his broken English, he tried to explain more in depth
about what he needed. I looked at the caller ID, and recognized his last name.
I asked him, “Are you Burmese?” to which he said he was, and again that he
needed help for his wife. I told him, in the way that I had learned to
communicate with refugees who do not speak much English, that I used to serve
at a Refugee and Immigrant Center, specifically with the Burmese population,
and that I would be glad to help him and his wife.
It took us a few minutes, and many
clarifications, but we decided to meet outside of a grocery store near his
house, and he would bring his pregnant wife, who didn’t speak any English.
To prepare for the appointment, I
gathered the regular healthy pregnancy information I give to all of my clients
– information on healthy weight gain during pregnancy, how to reduce stress
during pregnancy, counting kicks, baby spacing, family planning resources, safe
sleep information and other flyers that pregnant women could look over to make
sure they were prepared for their babies. In this packet, I decided to research
and include a booklet on how to navigate your way through the American Health
Care System as a refugee. Because of my previous service, I knew how confusing
and frustrating it could be to try to receive services as a refugee. For
refugees, not only is the language foreign, but so are the customs and
procedures. Because of this, doing things such as scheduling a medical
appointment, or even knowing how to get medical services can be really
difficult. I was so happy to meet a refugee family again, and to use my
previous knowledge and understanding of the refugee population to assist them
in the best way I could.
When I arrived at the grocery
store, I walked around the perimeter, trying to find the family. My favorite
part of service is exactly this – meeting with pregnant women and educating
them on healthy pregnancy topics such as childbirth, immunizations, SIDS
prevention and breastfeeding. After
about ten minutes, I spotted a man and a child who also looked as if they were
looking for someone. I called out the name the man had told me on the phone,
and he came over to me. It was obvious to me that the wife was not there – and
would not be coming. I was used to these misunderstandings, and decided to go
through with the appointment anyway. I would not be able to enroll the pregnant
wife into the Healthy Start program as she was not there, but at least I would
be able to get across some information.
I gave the man the bag full of
healthy pregnancy information and ways to navigate his way through the
healthcare system as a refugee in America. Ten minutes into us talking, he
pulled out an envelope, the back of which he had written a dozen phone numbers.
I knew this drill – often, my refugee clients had come to appointments and
asked for assistance calling back people who had called them and didn’t have
the patience to slowly explain why they were calling. I ended up spending an
hour and a half, standing outside of the grocery store, calling back Medicaid
representatives and doctor’s offices, scheduling appointments, writing down
full information, looking up with my iPhone the locations. I explained each
situation, who was calling, what to do when they called next, and what
questions he should ask to clarify when he did not understand. Even though it
wasn’t part of my normal service routine, when I left the appointment, I knew
that I had not only provided a family with more information about how to have a
healthy baby, but directly assisted a family with receiving access to care.
When the refugee walked away after
the appointment, he turned back and put his hands together and yelled loudly
and with such passion, “God bless! God bless you!” That was a moment that I
will never forget.
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