MGH Doctor To Provide Coronavirus Updates In Spanish
BOSTON (CBS) - One doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital is now providing coronavirus updates in Spanish.
This week, Dr. Joseph Betancourt, the hospital's chief equity and inclusion officer, launched a video series to help keep Spanish speakers informed. He says early on in the outbreak, nearly 40% of coronavirus patients at MGH were Latino. And those with limited English proficiency had trouble getting accurate information from trusted sources.
"Daily communication has been critical. Information changes; it changes every day," Betancourt said. "We have the governor who provides a routine update, the mayor who provides a routine update, but there's a vacuum in anyone providing a routine, almost daily, update for the Latino population in Spanish."
The first installment, published Wednesday, urged patients with chronic diseases to return to see their providers.
"I haven't seen my patients with diabetes now for six months. We need them to come back; we're safe," Betancourt said. "Certainly a lot of vulnerable populations came into this pandemic with a lot of disadvantages -- higher burden of chronic disease, certainly living in environments that are challenging in a different way, and that creates the perfect storm for the spread of coronavirus."
Betancourt's video updates will be posted several times a week on Mass General's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. He plans to tackle topics like testing, vaccines and how the virus impacts children.
"I'm gonna keep going with this update until I think we have a sense that we've really turned the corner. I'm going to be there for the Latino community. I'll be there, giving them information that's important to them," Betancourt said.
State data shows that among minorities, Latinos have the highest rate of infection. Currently, Massachusetts residents can get text alerts about the state's COVID-19 response in Spanish.
