Activists demand investigation of hospital in Massachusetts for discrimination

Boston (MA), 15 Mar A group of lawyers representing Centro Presente, which advocates for the rights of the Latino community in Massachusetts, formally requested an investigation on Tuesday for discrimination against immigrants and other patients at the largest community medical center in the state, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC). The Civil Rights Lawyers (LCR) organization sent letters to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and senior officials and commissioners of the Department of Public Health alleging that the medical center discriminates on the basis of origin, race, sex, and type of insurance “systemically and persistently.” “Patients and their families have repeatedly reported discriminatory and poor treatment at EBNHC, which has resulted in misdiagnosis, worsening health conditions and even death,” said Centro Presente Executive Director Patricia Montes. The group of lawyers and Centro Presente explained in a statement that they have already met several times with the Office of the Prosecutor to report the situation, but that this time they are asking that body for an investigation with the Department of Public Health “into the simultaneous and overlapping violations of public health laws and civil rights in EBNHC”. They insisted that EBNHC, one of the largest commuter hospitals in the United States, cares worse for immigrants, particularly women, and those who have MassHealth health insurance, which is provided by the federal government to those who cannot afford a private one and that it is free or at a rate proportional to income. Executive Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, Ivan Espinosa, explained that “state law prohibits healthcare providers from discriminating on the basis of race, national origin, sex, or MassHealth insurance status.” The research request breaks down deficiencies in the care of immigrants and details numerous personal cases in which the patient ended up dying or greatly impaired because he did not receive the treatment that another patient, with another medical plan, would have given him. Lawyers conclude that, “Simply put, people of color receive less attention, and often worse attention, than white Americans,” and that “Massachusetts is no exception.” The research request highlights that EBNHC is a provider of critical health care for Boston's immigrant communities, and that any abuse at the facility exacerbates the racial disparities that persist in Massachusetts. Among the complaints made by patients is that of an immigrant woman from Honduras with MassHealth insurance, who took her baby to EBNHC for care, but was sent back home with the infant. The next day the minor's condition worsened and the woman took him back to the medical center. This time the clinic staff called an ambulance to take him to a more equipped hospital, but the baby died on the way to the emergency room. CHIEF IE/MSC