Congreso de Latinos Unidos: Establishing Primary Care Services in Eastern North Philadelphia

Abstract

Access

In Eastern North Philadelphia, when you ask community members about their experiences seeking healthcare, you may hear people say, “You can wait to see a doctor until you’re at the point of dying or you can go [to the emergency room], get treated in a timely manner, and save yourself” (Focus Group 2009). You may hear people recount stories about waking up at 4 a.m. to wait in line to be handed one of 30 numbers to determine whether they will be able to access care that day.

These stories give life to the grim reality that there are 116,200 residents in Eastern North Philadelphia who do not have access to healthcare services (UDS Mapper 2010). Eastern North Philadelphia, which is 60 percent Latino, is home to the most vulnerable census tract in all of Pennsylvania; almost 64 percent of children 0-17 in this area were living in poverty in 2009. The poverty level for adults is nearly twice as high as that of the city average (American Community Survey 2009). Over 25 percent of the residents in the area have not seen a primary healthcare provider in the past year, compared to only 16 percent of the City population (Community Health Database 2008).