This year, Hispanic Heritage Month at the MGH Institute included celebrating Hispanic excellence in healthcare during a panel discussion moderated by JEDI Fellow and second-year Speech Language Pathology student, Laura González.

“I wanted to create a space with people who have similar upbringings to share their stories and bringing these professionals from various sectors helped underscore the multifaceted nature of healthcare system and diverse ways in which Hispanic professionals contribute to it,” explained González.

She brought together Eleonor Pusey-Reid DNP, RN, MEd, an MGH Institute faculty member in the School of Nursing; Karen Rodriguez, MS, CCC-SLP, a bilingual speech language pathologist in the Boston Public Schools; Maribel DeBarros, MA, CCC-SLP, a multilingual speech liaison and Head Start liaison in the Boston Public Schools; Karlenis Castillo, DPT, and Daniela Diaz Caro, MS, CGC, an MGH Institute faculty member in the Department of Genetic Counseling, to share their personal and professional journeys, and perspectives on what they thought the healthcare system was missing about the Hispanic community. More than 30 people listened to them share candid reflections about the barriers they have overcome as well as their cultural strengths and how that shapes their identities and approaches to healthcare. 

The various backgrounds of the panelists highlighted a theme that occurred throughout the event: while the Hispanic community is often viewed as a monolith, there are plenty of differences between Hispanic cultures, and even languages. There are further differences when considering personal experiences such as whether one was born in the United States or immigrated, or whether one speaks Spanish regularly or not.

“Even though we do represent a minoritized community, we don't necessarily know the all the nuances of every single other community, or even our own community itself, right?,” González asked. “We had a really good discussion about checking our own experiences and biases as healthcare professionals and treating every single day as a cultural learning opportunity.” 

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