Health Care

[Editor's Note: Experts on the ground agree with the medical publication: the death toll from Maria was devastating. In this interview from May, Dr. Jose O. Rodriguez, Family Medicine Specialist and Medical Director of General Hospital Castañer in Puerto Rico explains why so many people died in the wake of Hurricane Maria.]

photo credit: CSM

photo courtesy of Viriginia Garcia Memorial Health Center

By Claire Hutkins Seda, Writer, Migrant Clinicians Network, and Managing Editor, Streamline

Maria* was in detention with a severely broken arm. She had crossed the US-Mexico border in a jeep, which rolled in the desert. Her young daughter was ejected from the car and died. Maria was picked up by border patrol. Her injuries were severe, and yet she didn’t get the medical care she needed in detention. Her attorney feared she might lose her arm.

When Sarah* came to a rural health center for a six-month checkup after her pregnancy, she said she was comfortable working with the health center staff, from the front desk to her doctor. But she also reported in an interview afterward that she had trouble getting transportation to and from the clinic, and that her health plan does not fully cover the cost of her prescriptions. She wasn’t asked during her visit about these concerns.

Jessica, Leonardo and Cinthia. The Puerto RIco Diabetes team from PR Health Department