The Trenton Times published the following article on April 22, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
Advocate says education is key as many city Hispanics live without health insurance
By Cristina Rojas/The Times of Trenton
on April 22, 2014 at 6:40 AM, updated April 22, 2014 at 6:45 AMTRENTON — Living without insurance, Melvin Garcia hopes he will not get injured, but it’s a gamble he has to take.
Apart from back pain, he has been fortunate so far. The 32-year-old has not gone to a doctor in years and has not been sick enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.
Garcia’s situation isn’t unusual among Trenton’s Hispanic residents.
He was among the hundreds of people who turned to El Centro’s annual community health fair earlier this month for an annual checkup.
“It’s an option and it’s free,” he said.
The fair offered information about health and social services as well as a wide range of free screenings, including blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, bone density, vision and dental.
Free health fairs, hospital clinics and community health centers such as Henry J. Austin that offer sliding-scale fees are becoming the primary source of health care for many Hispanics who have no health insurance, either because they are not offered it through an employer, cannot afford it or do not qualify for it because of their immigration status.