(WXYZ) — Southwest Detroit residents face big challenges every day. Some are environmental, with lower air quality than the national average and a greater risk of suffering from respiratory illness.
Other challenges are financial. 36% of residents live below the poverty line.
All of the issues are reflected in health data. Life expectancy in Southwest Detroit is almost three years below the statewide average. But, a nurse practitioner born in Costa Rica is fighting to transform healthcare for the community one patient at a time.
In a neighborhood rich with culture, where Spanish is the language of the heart, and for many the only language to pass through their lips, Family Nurse Practitioner Scarlett Idema, has found a home and mission.
In March, she opened Medicina Scarlett, a family medicine and urgent care clinic. Her goal is to increase access to healthcare and break down barriers, like language.
"I'm going to say 90% of my patients are Spanish-speaking and it’s my first language," Idema said. "And I think it's incredibly important to be able to communicate in your own language, especially when it comes to your health."
A sentiment backed up by research that finds language barriers in healthcare lead to miscommunication between providers and patients, reducing satisfaction for both and decreasing the quality of healthcare delivery and patient safety. At Medicina Scarlett, clients can speak Spanish from the moment they walk in the door.
"To me, to be able to talk to a patient in our own language is gold," she said.
But it required a lot of work to open up the clinic. Scarlett knew she wanted to be in the heart of the community so patients wouldn’t have to worry about transportation. Many arrive on foot and literally walk in. But the spot she found on Vernor Highway required a lot of work with financial help from Motor City Match.
"What was it like before?" I asked.
"It was just an empty shell. There was nothing but an empty room with no walls," Idema said.
After a complete floor-to-ceiling rebuild, Medicina Scarlett focuses on convenience.
They have a lab with blood draws done in-house, some ultrasound procedures done on the spot to speed up referrals to specialists. And soon, they’ll offer certain no-charge vaccines.
'Because we have a lot of children who are unvaccinated coming in and we asked the health department to give us the vaccine so we can give them for free.
Scarlett says each handoff of care to another provider or to another location risks a drop in care, so offering as much as possible on-site increases access and outcomes.
"We also have a pharmacy on-site," she said.
Where the pharmacy techs also speak Spanish led by pharmacist Ameed Nahhas.
So this is my partner in crime. And so we just work really well together and make sure that our patients get the same care as well," Idema said.
Medicina Scarlett opened in March with a summer ribbon cutting as the 168th Motor City Match business.
"I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous that my patients were not walking through the door. And it has been absolutely the opposite," Idema said.
So much so, Scarlett says she intends to hire another provider to keep up with demand.
"When people feel validated for their for their complaints, it’s a very important thing because that's how you save people's lives," she said.
