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DISCLAIMER
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Alumni Association
UAG
Graduates open Medical Center in New York City
ITZAMNA
MEDICAL CENTER FIRST TO FOCUS ON NEEDS OF
LATINO POPULATION IN NEW YORK CITY
Patient
Advocacy a Priority at New Manhattan Facility
*
There are 2.1 million Latinos in New York City
* - Latinos comprise 27% of the NYC population
* Over 30% of Latinos have no family doctor
New York
(August 20, 2001) - In a move to address the pressing health
needs of the Hispanic population in New York City, the Itzamna
Medical Center, named after the Mayan deity that rules over
healing and medicine, opened its doors today as the first
treatment facility to provide first class, culturally sensitive
healthcare services. "Itzamna Medical Center brings state-of-the-art
medicine to the working class in New York City, particularly
the rapidly growing Latino population here," said Dr.
Hector Castro, Medical Director. Latinos are the largest minority
group in New York City and in the United States, yet their
healthcare status is among the worst. Why? Many Hispanics
do not have access to Spanish-speaking healthcare professionals.
Doctors that speak Spanish and understand the Latino culture
are few, and U.S. medical schools produce only about 5% Hispanic
physicians per year. In addition to the language barrier,
Latinos go to the doctor less often because they lack health
insurance, fear medical technology and, for illegal aliens,
fear deportation.
Culturally
Appropriate Healthcare Services When communication and cultural
barriers hinder people from seeing a physician, or prevent
doctors from understanding their patient's symptoms, proper
medical care is impossible. Itzamna will remove this obstacle
and improve the health status of Hispanics in New York. "We
will be sensitive to the demands of the Latino culture, and
strive to educate our patients and their families," said
Dr. Castro. "This strategy allows all of us to become
partners in any and all medical decisions." The founders
of Itzamna Medical Center are Doctors Hector J. Castro and
George A. Castro. All are graduates of Mexico's Universidad
Autonoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine, and they are affiliated
with Cabrini Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Medical Center in
New York City.
A
Model That Exceeds Minority Boundaries Itzamna's mission
extends beyond its own ability to care for patients. As
the population of New York and the nation becomes more diverse,
access to healthcare by minority groups will become a bigger
issue. The new medical center hopes to foster change in
the healthcare system by creating a new model for the medical
establishment to follow. While focused on Latino healthcare,
Itzamna welcomes everyone. "We want to ensure that
the best treatment possible is accessible to anyone who
needs it." said Dr. Castro. "Our goal is to combine
humanistic and egalitarian values with the best tools and
techniques of modern medicine." In addition, Itzamna's
doctors are determined to reestablish the primacy of the
general practitioner and provide state-of-the-art sub-specialty
care to patients. "Doctors must have the ability to
evaluate all medical issues and conditions, and direct treatment
for everything from a common virus to life-threatening illnesses,"
said the center's medical director. "As doctors we
are responsible for the entire well being of our patients."
"Experience
shows that patients want a doctor that cares about them
personally," adds Dr. Castro. "Modern medicine
has forgotten this very important tenet, but it is one of
Itzamna's primary goals."
A
White Stucco Building Housed in a former commercial building
that has been completely remodeled for medical service,
the Itzamna Medical Center comprises three levels of patient
care areas that include offices, examination rooms, a state-of-the-art
procedure room, a cardio-pulmonary and metabolic function
laboratory, and a complete physical therapy center. The
Itzamna Medical Center opens Monday August 20th on 359 Second
Avenue in Manhattan, at 21st Street.
Please feel free to come and see our Medical Center, an
attachment for link to NY1 Story that was aired last year
is also being sent for your viewing.
Health
Center Catering To Hispanics Opens In Manhattan
In
a move to address the pressing health needs of the Latino
community in New York City, a new health center is opening
its doors. Health Reporter Cheryl Wills has more as NY1
begins its coverage of Hispanic Heritage Week.
Maria
Anglero feels right at home at Itzamna Medical Center in
Gramercy. She is one of the first patients of the new health
facility which focuses on the special needs of Latinos.
"I
do feel more comfortable," says Anglero. "I'm
able to relate, and if I can't think of a word in English
I say it in Spanish and he understands."
There
are more than two million Latinos in New York City, yet
more than 30 percent of them have no family doctor.
According
to Dr. Hector Castro, the Medical Director of Itzamna: "Continuity
of care is not there. In other words, we ask a lot of patients,
and one of their main concerns is they see a different doctor
every day they seek health care."
So
Itzamna tries to provide continuity of care under one roof
by providing a wide spectrum of healthcare services with
a staff of six bi-lingual doctors.
"Patients
sometimes, because of having their language barrier, they
may see a physician first. Then they feel not comfortable
and just forget about it and not to follow up with the physician,"
says Itzamna.
Dr.
Farshad Shafizadeh adds, "It's physician driven. What
that means is that we control their care. We don't have
to ask permission from an administrator, and we can be more
flexible in making certain therapies more accessible to
them."
Latinos
are disproportionately affected by conditions like asthma
and diabetes, and the center has state of the art technology
to diagnose and treat those illnesses.
And
while the center is open to everyone, doctors say they hope
Latinos in particular will come to view Itzamna as a culturally
sensitive doctor's office.
Itzamna
Medical Center
359 Second Avenue
NY, NY 10010
(212) 420-9225
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