KUSA - Usually when I do stories with Clinica Tepeyac, it's from inside the clinic or one of their exam rooms.
But this time, CEO of Clinica Jim Garcia takes me on a walk through their community garden right next door to the clinic where the tomatillos are ready to be picked. It's obvious to me that the care that Clinica Tepeyac gives to their patients extends beyond the exam room.
"We have a community garden right next door because we believe healthy eating is essential to healthy living," Garcia said.
It's been 21 years since Clinica Tepeyac started with their mission to be a gateway of health to the underserved. I found out about them four years ago when I moved to Denver and their mission hit very close to home. I remember as a child living in South Texas and not having access to medical care. I had no health insurance and very little money, so my parents were forced to take me across the border into Mexico for a doctor's visit and affordable medicine. With the high rate of uninsured Latinos in the metro area, I could see how Clinica Tepeyac was an indispensable resource.
"People come from all over. They take two to three buses to get here, but they find a way to get here," Garcia said.
For the mostly Spanish-speaking patients that Clinica helps, the drive is worth it because of the low $25 visit fee, the variety of services offered and something else.
"When someone comes in here for care, it's not just being able to speak their language. It's being able to relate from a cultural perspective as well," Garcia said.
Having bilingual doctors like Elisa Melendez-Eisman helps the patients feel welcome.
"That's something that I think we do well as far as being able to make the patients feel comfortable, addressing their concerns and taking the time to get to know them as a person," Melendez-Eisman said.
Dr. Melendez-Eisman believes that having a personal connection with her patients is vital.
"We want to empower our patients who are underserved to feel that strength to care for themselves so that they feel that they're contributing more than the providers are," Melendez-Eisman said. "One of the beauties of it is that you get to see patients transition from being afraid of having an illness or a chronic disease to where they are the ones that are taking care of themselves and making progress and really making an impact for themselves and their families."
If it were not for the caring staff and services of Clinica Tepeyac many of the patients would not have anywhere to go or worse.
"They would delay their care then chances are they would show up to the emergency rooms with a really serious health condition our goal is to keep people out of the emergency room," Garcia said.
Recently the Clinic as adopted an integrated model that allows them to provide services of behavioral health and health promotions and soon dental health.
"We are here to serve the community, and the community has responded by continuing to come here over the last 20 years," Melendez-Eisman said. "The future is very bright for what we can continue to do."
Clinica Tepeyac is financed through grants and private donations and many of the staff are volunteers. They will be having a big fundraiser on October 8th at the National Western Complex.
There will be Mariachi music, Folkloric dancers, and our own Greg Moss and Belen De Leon will be the emcees. Details on Fiesta on the Plaza. for more information, visit http://www.clinicatepeyac.org/.
(© 2015 KUSA)
