Texarkana clinic opening to serve Spanish-speaking population

TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS)—Nurse practitioner Alaina Hernandez has worked in health care for years and has noticed the difficulty many members of the Spanish-speaking community have navigating the system.

“If they went to the doctor, sometimes they would have translators or the iPads that translate, but they just didn’t feel comfortable with that translation,” says Hernandez, “So they basically would end up getting very sick before they would go to the doctor.”

That’s why she is opening Mi Clínica Hispana.

“God was telling me this is the time to just open this clinic and help out the Hispanic community.” says Hernandez.

The clinic is all about removing barriers for Hispanic people, starting with getting them in the door.

“Sometimes you’re scared to call, just imagine someone answering the phone and not knowing what you’re saying. So like it’s like hard on so many levels for them to even get an appointment.” says Hernandez.

The signs and forms are in Spanish, and they only employ bi-lingual staff to handle the reception and medical care, including supervising physician Dr. John Baugh.

“I’ll talk to them in Spanish and then the follow up instructions… We will send it to the pharmacy with Spanish instructions on the bottle. So just the little things that we as English speakers don’t think about.” says Hernandez.

Equal access to care and comfort and security when seeking help.

“I just want the Hispanic population to know that there are rules to keep, all of their information private here so they don’t have to worry about that.” says Hernandez, “I’m going to treat my patients as good as I would treat anyone. It doesn’t matter what color they are, what immigration status they are.”

The clinic is set to open on February 22. At first, it will only be open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, though it expects to be open four to five days a week later. Visit its website or call (903) 710-1400 to make an appointment.