By Katie Rogers, Truth Staff
Each year in Elkhart County, more and more babies are born to immigrant parents.
Pregnant, often underinsured and sometimes undocumented, expectant immigrant mothers must find the resources within this county to have a healthy child.
Dr. James Gingerich has seen many of those mothers in his 20 years with Maple City Health Care Center, and he still thinks Elkhart County could go further in terms of helping immigrant families have babies.
"There are several major difficulties," Gingerich said, "especially for pregnant women with prenatal care."
He named two major obstacles, the first being translation. Gingerich said few private providers in the area offer bilingual services.
Karie Karasiak, program director for the Latino Health Coalition of Elkhart County, also named translation as a major weak point in providing health care to expectant moms.
"A lot of the immigrants will rely more on their family members instead of going outside and looking for help," Karasiak said. "It's more of a collective culture instead of individualism."
So what if health problems occur?
"That's the thing," Karasiak said. "Some just don't get help."
The second issue Gingerich named is paying for medical care, one so many people living in America are familiar with.
If undocumented, immigrant mothers are eligible to receive "emergency" coverage through publicly funded Medicaid, which covers only cost of a hospital birth. This form of Medicaid will not provide money for preventive care, but will pay for services if a child is born prematurely.
"We kind of have our priorities mixed up," Gingerich said. "We're willing to provide public dollars after a disaster but we're not willing to prevent it."
When he helped found Maple City 20 years ago, Gingerich made sure at least one person on the center's small staff spoke Spanish. Now the majority of the facility's 20-person staff can communicate with the half of the client base composed of native Spanish-speakers.
Insurance and Medicaid are accepted, but Gingerich said many patients are eligible for up to a 90 percent discount on a sliding-fee scale based on household size and income. Maple City funding is largely supported by patients, Medicaid and other insurance. The rest of the tab is picked up through donations and state grants.
Other facilities, such as the Women's Care Center, offer what help they can to expectant mothers. This can come in the form of a free pregnancy test and, depending on Medicaid eligibility, an initial ultrasound or first prenatal visits. Midwives of Michiana partners with this organization to provide care for undocumented parents, at least in the form of a few checkups, said Annie Duna, an employee at the Women's Care Center.
"We're just geared toward helping in any way we can," Duna said. "We definitely want to make sure they're taken care of."
The Healthy Beginnings division of the Elkhart County Health Department offers support through Women Infants and Children (WIC), which does not require documentation in order for a woman to receive services. Nutrition education, breastfeeding workshops and food vouchers are provided to women through this program. Dental care for children and a prenatal care coordination plan also are offered through Healthy Beginnings.
Karasiak of the Latino Health Coalition said the resources available are few, but "the ones that exist are very good programs."
Gingerich said immigrants deserve help to start their families, regardless of insurance or residency status.
"I would say that most of these people are working very hard to be productive and contributing members of our community," Gingerich said. "These patients bring all kinds of experiences and gifts as well as needs."