For the last 15 years, Oscar Romero Alba has faced issues with his kidneys. For the past four years, that's meant dialysis.He says when he first got the news about dialysis, he thought it meant he was going to die. His doctors soon educated him otherwise, and now he sits on the transplant list at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. But Oscar's experience isn't typical. Historically, his community hasn't received the outreach to guide them through.
To many, that means interpreters. But interpreters don't compare to consistent, connective outreach.For five years, UCHealth has run a Hispanic Transplant Program, now run by Dr. Giusti. They hire bilingual employees. They post bilingual signage. They have a dedicated Spanish-language web page."Our pharmacy team meets with them regularly," Dr. Giusti added."Our typical patients might see a pharmacist once every month or so, but they see them 2-3 times a week.