For the Health of it

Students interpret for Spanish-speaking patients

December 4, 2007

Students, from left, Afrika Lyons '10, Piper Etess '08 and Bliss McColl '10 were among the Dickinson volunteers who registered patients and served as interpreters at the Latino Health Fair last month in Baltimore.

Dickinson students recently received a lesson in culture, community and wellness by volunteering as interpreters at the Latino Health Fair hosted by the Assisi House of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the Fells Point section of Baltimore.

The fair focused on screening patients for the risk factors of diabetes, a serious health threat in the Latino community. Sponsors included the Baltimore Mayor's Office for Latino Affairs and the Maryland Kidney Foundation.

The students registered patients and helped them fill out the intake questionnaires. Students also interpreted for the doctors performing the medical examinations and health studies for each patient. For the course, Spanish for the Health Professions, taught by Assistant Professor of Spanish Wendell Smith, students are required to spend seven weeks volunteering as interpreters for Spanish-speaking patients in the communities surrounding Carlisle. Most students work with Keystone Migrant Health, documenting medical histories and filling out paperwork to register migrant workers for medical care. However, the Latino Health Fair presented a more diverse set of challenges for students.

"The health fair in Baltimore was a chance to show students a different patient population than the one they have seen, with more urban problems and with different countries of origin, particularly patients from El Salvador," said Smith. "It was a hard Saturday's work but a very rewarding experience helping to eliminate barriers to effective health care."

The participating students were Piper Etess '08, Brittany Hewett '08, Afrika Lyons '10, Bliss McColl '10, Julia McGlynn '08, Marleni Milla '11, Will Schaffenburg '10 and Elizabeth Stokely '08.

- Andrew Williams '08