Murray kidney clinic helping the Latino community
Feb 26, 2024, 8:30 PM | Updated: Mar 8, 2024, 4:32 pm
Liver and kidney transplant patient Luis Campos says he's grateful he had a Spanish-speaking team. (Intermountain Health)
(Intermountain Health)
MURRAY, Utah — Intermountain Health has taken steps to address healthcare in Latino communities by opening Utah’s first fully Spanish-speaking Kidney Transplant Clinic. The Intermountain Clinica Hispana de Riñon (Hispanic Kidney Clinic), in Murray, aims to provide a space for members of the Latino community navigating the complex kidney transplant process.
The clinic has bilingual professionals, including surgeons, social workers, financial and nutrition coordinators.
“It’s really hard when you don’t know the language and nobody understands you, you know?” said, Luis Campos, one of the patients who expressed gratitude for the clinic.
“Sometimes it’s not a language barrier, but more into a cultural barrier,” said Dr. Alan Contreras, one of the transplant surgeons at Intermountain Clinica Hispana de Riñon says the clinic, he tells about when he used to go to offices and see patients that light up when they saw him because they were able to feel heard by someone who looks like them. Dr. Contreras said that the clinic is just one way that can help bring down the barriers for those looking for treatment.
“And sometimes they just retrain themselves. To be honest, they’re probably afraid and want to get out of the office as soon as possible,” said Dr. Contreras, “But when you understand what is going [on] , and you talk to them and their families, [it] kind of eases the path.”
Dr. Contreras says he already sees a positive impact on the 60 patients treated since the clinic’s opening at the beginning of the year.
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