Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 21, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 13 HEALTH CARE & LIFE SCIENCES F O C U S Palliative Care —for improved quality of life. Our Adult Palliative Care Program serves patients living with serious illness with a focus on relieving pain or other distressing symptoms, assisting with advanced care planning, clarifying goals of care, and improving quality of life. Our team provides palliative care services in personal homes, other nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, or wherever patients call home throughout Central Massachusetts. 555-559 Plantation Street Worcester, MA 01605 508-852-5800 Contact us to learn more about the mission-driven, not-for- profit difference at Notre Dame Health Care. Notre Dame Palliative Care notredame healthcare.org Healthcare barriers Hispanic residents in Massachusetts faced significantly greater challenges in accessing affordable health care in 2023 compared to other races and ethnicities. n Percent of respondents who experienced an affordability issue within the past 12 months Ethnicity/Race Percentage Hispanic 58.2% Black 48.7% White 39.2% Asian 26.3% Other or multiple races, non-Hispanic residents 40.7% Massachusetts average 41.3% n Percentage of respondents who had any unmet need for health care in their family due to cost in 2023 Ethnicity/Race Percentage Hispanic 44.3% Black 30.2% White 26.9% Asian 14.6% Other or multiple races, non-Hispanic residents 33.5% Massachusetts average 28.8% Source: Center for Health Information and Analysis's Annual Report on the Performance of the Massachusetts Health Care System for 2023, released March 2025 understand the culture and are willing to work our culture," he said. At Kennedy Health Center, about 70% of patients report receiving care better in a language other than English with 61% self-identifying as Hispanic or Latino. While the center's employees speak a total of 32 different languages, its clien- tele speaks more than 90, a key reason behind the nonprofit spending about $1.5 million on interpreter services every year, funds that are not reimbursable through the healthcare system "We prioritize delivering culturally and linguistically competent care at our health center, but there are fewer options and fewer providers who might offer care in someone's primary language," said Kerrigan. Navigating the system Central Massachusetts has places like the Kennedy Health Center to provide care regardless of the patient's ability to pay; but those options are few and far between, and doing the work to obtain health insurance can oen be an uphill battle. In his past work at LAHA and his cur- rent work at Restoration Recovery Center supporting clients living with substance use disorder, Peña is no stranger to the levels of bureau- cracy in the Massa- chusetts healthcare system. "It's a long pro- cess. It's a tedious, annoying process," said Peña. As he works to coordinate calls between his clients and MassHealth workers, he is oen caught between a rock and a hard place: He's oen trying to convince his patients of the importance of health care, an oen-times hard sell to people actively engaging in drug use, while trying to convince the MassHealth worker to let him speak on their behalf. "I'm trying to convince them at the same time while advocating for them with MassHealth, and [MassHealth puts] barriers by not wanting to speak with me unless the person gives them the okay," he said. In order to bypass these hurdles, Peña is looking to become a certified appli- cation counselor, a volunteer position helping people enroll in MassHealth and the Massachusetts Health Connector. With insurance like MassHealth or without, Latino individuals in Central Massachusetts oen forgo preventative physical and mental health screenings because those opportunities are not made open and accessible to their com- munities, said Castiel. "ere are inequities in health care in the Latino community, and I think that physicians and medical entities need to understand that, and we need to develop a system that we can work with the Latino community to create those access points to be able to change those inequities," she said. UMass Memorial Health's Hospital at Home program is a prime example of providing health care within the community, Castiel said. e program brings inpatient levels of care into the home for patients who would otherwise need to be staying in the hospital. "It's incredibly important to bring care into the home and into their culture, and understanding that piece, I think people do better," said Castiel. Cultural connection "I hate to say this, but somebody's got to say it: Have more Latino people working with more Latinos," said Peña. He's witnessed firsthand a hesitan- cy from others to work with Latino patients, who then start to look for reasons to not follow through with their care. ere is a culture within the Latino community that emphasizes self suffi- ciency, leading many to not want to take support. "We're taught not to ask for help," said Peña. "Sometimes our Latino pride, it stops us from seeking better." ose who don't understand that as- pect of the culture can be quick to wash their hands of a situation if the patient says they don't need help, he said. is is where cultural competency be- comes critical, he said. A provider who recognizes this dynamic can push back at that mentality and put more effort into providing a space for their Latino clients to be more accepting of support. "e first thing I tell my people is, 'Listen, I know that we're taught that we don't ask for help, we don't cry, that bullshit. We're human beings just like everybody else. We cry, we feel, we hurt. I'm here for you. What do you need?'" said Peña. Manny Peña, case manager at Restoration Recovery Center The Latin American Health Alliance encompasses two sober living facilities, one sub- stance-use treatment facility, and Café Reyes, a Cuban food restaurant employing residents and graduates of its Hector Reyes House. W

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