Credit: Michelle Perez for palabra.
The short reach of long COVID careCOVID is still with us in 2024, and Latino and Black communities are experiencing the nation's highest rates of long COVID. This story from palabra., co-published with WHYY's The Pulse, highlights an important fact many Black and Brown communities might not know: care for long COVID exists. Cities with higher concentrations of Black and Brown residents, such as New York City, have a handful of care clinics available to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
“I didn't even know this existed. If there [are] people who specialize in COVID care, I should absolutely be seen by them. They may have information that can help me get far better than what I've gotten in three years," said Sabrina Moye, a 46-year-old woman diagnosed with long COVID in 2021.
However, it's not surprising that information about these clinics and resources might not be reaching communities in need. Several factors are likely contributing to this information gap. For one, there is no research yet on why people of color have such high rates of long COVID so people may not know they have long COVID.
Also, Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, who suffers from long COVID and runs a long COVID clinic in San Antonio, told palabra. that low cultural competency among physicians leads to inadequate diagnoses in Black and Latino communities.
Additionally, palabra. reports that despite months of requests, Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City — one of nine clinics awarded federal grants of $5 million over five years to expand access to care for people of color in their East Harlem clinic — has declined to provide information on the new clinic’s patient demographics or documentation on the federal funding.
Credit: Hunger Solutions
A Hmong health navigator offers Minn. patients a new prescription: Food
Imagine leaving your doctor's appointment with a referral to a food navigator if you “test” positive for food insecurity. Well, now patients who leave their appointments at M Health Fairview in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has implemented this initiative to help patients access nutritious food, can receive referrals to meet a new kind of health navigator.
Mang Vang, a food navigator at Fairview Health Services, connects patients with resources like food shelves, grocery delivery services, and Veggie Rx, which provides culturally specific produce. She can also offer low-cost grocery options, including $40 gift cards to supermarkets and vouchers to Twin Cities Mobile Market, a converted bus that stops near clinics to distribute produce and staples such as canned soup, bags of rice, and cereal.
Recognizing its critical role in managing conditions like diabetes, asthma, and high blood pressure and addressing food insecurity, Sahan Journal reports that M Health Fairview is stepping in to provide gaps in addressing the state’s challenges with food security. According to the nonprofit Hunger Solutions, Minnesotans made more than 7.5 million food-shelf visits in 2023 — a record number — and at any given time, one in nine Minnesotans experiences food insecurity.
Ultimately, Vang’s role is to guide patients through the often complex network of food assistance programs in both English and Hmong, as well as refer patients seeking support in other languages. “I’ve been advocating for them, teaching them, and helping them navigate in this really complex healthcare system,” she said. “So when I saw [the] [position] open up, I’m like, ‘Hey, I love food.’ I didn’t know the whole realm of food insecurity, but when you put the two and two together, it’s like, ‘You know what? I can help you fight for that.’”
Credit: Wendy Howell for Williams-Grand Canyon News Syphilis infections are on the rise. How early testing can reverse the trend.In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control showed a drastic increase in syphilis cases, even reaching a 70-year high exacerbated by a shortage of penicillin, the preferred treatment for all stages of syphilis. Earlier this year, Native News Online republished this story produced by KFF Health News about the rise in syphilis including congenital syphilis — which occurs when people pass syphilis to their babies during pregnancy — among Indigenous communities.
In the story, Melissa Wyaco, who oversees public health nurses in Gallup, New Mexico, reflected on the dire situation in regions like the Navajo Nation, where syphilis infection rates are among the highest nationwide, including parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Experts in the story share that syphilis as a public health concern had taken a back seat during the pandemic.“Public health across the country got almost 95% diverted to doing covid care,” said Jonathan Iralu, the Indian Health Service chief clinical consultant for infectious diseases, who is based at the Gallup Indian Medical Center.
Native News Online followed up with the story and released details from the Department of Health and Human Services, which has set up the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic Federal Task Force to address the issue. The group recently released new guidelines for healthcare providers on syphilis testing, detailed in "Considerations for the Implementation of Point of Care Tests for Syphilis." The article mentions the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two quick point-of-care tests that provide results in just 15 minutes, making it easier to diagnose and treat promptly.
If left untreated, syphilis can severely damage the heart and brain and cause blindness, deafness and paralysis.
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Those who "test" positive for food insecurity at M Health Fairview in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Area can expect a call from food navigator Mang Vang, who connects patients in need to external resources, such as food shelves and vouchers →Credit: Aaron Nesheim for Sahan Journal