Division of Community Women's Health

Laura Bess, Summer 2017

My summer with the UC OB/GYN Health Department was incredible, and my only regret was not doing it full time. When I initially signed up, I only foresaw taking pictures of women and their homes. Instead, I was exposed to the realities of poverty and seeking medical care in Cincinnati. It still astounds me that people are forced to make a decision between obtaining medical care or affording food. Even more concerning, is that some people can’t access basic care because they don’t have an ability to travel to the health centers. Because of these barriers, the cycle of poverty and exacerbation of simple health problems is perpetuated. Imagine a pregnant mother in Cincinnati. Because she doesn’t have access to prenatal care, she foregoes having any medical care until her 2nd or 3rd trimester. Due to this delay, she finds out that her child has an abnormality, or medical condition that was perfectly preventable by vitamins taken in the 1st trimester. Now this mother will have a child that may need medical treatment for the rest of his life, the same medical care that the mother had trouble accessing in the first place. The whole experience really sheds a light on the need for easily accessible preventative medicine. The city of Cincinnati Health Department has done a great job positioning clinics and providers around the city to best meet the needs of the diverse populations in Cincinnati. The population I mainly worked with for the project was composed of Guatemalan immigrants. Almost all of them had been in the United States for a significant amount of time and they seemed comfortable interacting with healthcare workers and social workers. I think that these interactions really exemplify the underpinnings of the intentions of the staff at the health department; regardless of nationality, or status in the United States, affordable healthcare should be accessible and provided. It is not our place to pass judgement on the immigration status, or the economic status of our patients. Our duty as physicians and healthcare workers is to provide the best care we can. The quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. about the injustice of inequality in healthcare paints the best picture for my experience with the Urban Health Project this summer. Where ever my future career takes me, I know that I will always be looking for an avenue in which I can serve the populations that are overlooked. Diseases and health issues don’t care how much money you make, or what zip code you live in, so why, as people who are armed with the weapons to treat these conditions, care as well?

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhumane.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.