Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/597435
t m c » p u l s e | n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5 11 "In this particular case, what's really interesting is that here's a situation where many health care workers, and not just high-level doctors, are immigrating from other countries and winding up working at the Texas Medical Center," said William "Bill" Fulton, director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. "What's fascinating to me is the relationship between their work at the medical center and their influence in their communities where they live." The study provided a wealth of information to sift through. The researchers found that foreign-born health care workers were transform- ing Houston's health care industry by improving its ability to effectively treat racially and ethnically diverse popu- lations. Due to their ability to speak certain patients' native languages and an awareness of specific cultural sensitivities, foreign doctors and nurses have a unique advantage over native-born professionals. "As Houston has diversified, so has the number of patients coming in who need people who are culturally sensitive and versed in other lan- guages," added Cherry. "It's like when you're upset, you want to revert back to your native language, even if you're completely fluent in English. We're finding that these employees are able to address those populations." Effectively treating patients who share the same ethnic background doesn't end at an enhanced ease of communication—foreign health care professionals can also raise awareness of health risks within certain commu- nities. The Filipino community, for example, needs more attention for high blood pressure, while Helicobacter pylori infections disproportionately affect the Vietnamese community. At the end of the day, simply under- standing might have the most profound impact. "I'm often on the street through- out the Texas Medical Center during my commute, and I run into a lot of people—they might be white, they might be black, they might be immigrants from Asia or Latin America—and they're all really intimi- dated to be here. It's this gigantic, kind of intimidating atmosphere," Fulton said. "And for foreign-born health care workers in TMC institu- tions, to be able to understand the cultural and social cues and fears that these people might have walk- ing through these hospitals, I think it makes for much better patient care. It allows the patients to relax and have much more confidence in the institution." In addition to the conclusion that foreign-born workers are doing much more to improve care than simply fill- ing a demand for labor, the study aimed to determine whether those workers were joining large, community-based organizations and engaging with Houston's broader civic conversations. "A lot of the people who were interviewed for the paper talked about how, number one, ethnic diversity is an attraction to them," Fulton said. "Number two, the fact that employees at the Texas Medical Center are well-paid is an economic asset to those commu- nities. And number three, they spoke of a sense of commitment to their own ethnic community, bringing both their expertise in health care and that dedi- cation to their communities to try and make them better places to live." Communities like Fort Bend County—now the most racially and ethnically diverse in the Houston area—attract immigrant groups not only due to their proximity to the TMC, but because of that vitality and ethnic diversity. While previous research paints a picture of a slow, steady march toward upward mobility for immigrants, medical professionals today are able to buy homes in Fort Bend County almost immediately. "One of the important elements in understanding what this all means is that, because of their professional back- grounds and socio-economic status, those employees are able to move into rather diverse, multiracial, multiethnic neighborhoods, and quickly engage those communities," Cherry said. "They have a lot of social capital. So when you look at civic engagement and health or resource fairs that are happening in Houston, they're largely being staffed by foreign-born workers." According to Cherry, that commit- ment to civic engagement can send ripples throughout communities that billow into waves of potential impact. From voting percentages and vol- unteering rates that are higher than among average Houstonians, to the ability to quickly mobilize people and resources to address important issues, "in terms of what [foreign-born workers] bring to civil society, it's just incredible." In contrast to previous theories about an immigrant population's assimilation into American cities, a slow process where those immigrants would become indistinguishable from native-born residents, these health care workers are making an immediate impact on their communities and pro- fessions. Challenging previous assump- tions about how immigrants integrate into their new homes and participate in civic life upon arrival, it's an interplay that will only add to Houston's richness and vibrancy. Many foreign-born health care workers like Shankar will continue to cherish and preserve their own dis- tinct heritage. "To be honest with you, I can iden- tify as both Filipino and American," Shankar said. "I guess it's all about how you were brought up—whether you were going to church every Sunday, for example, or making sure that you have time to spend with your family. I still go home to see my parents and I still feel like I need to have that connection with my roots at home, which is why I long to go back to the Philippines pretty much every year. You never lose that need to reconnect with your friends and relatives back home." For Cherry and his colleagues, they envision the study as a pilot project for a much larger survey of the Texas Medical Center—and all of the people who make it what it is today. "There is still so much to learn," he said. "It's just the surface of what we can understand, especially considering that it's such a large institution, but if we start nego- tiating those boundaries now, there's a lot more that we can discover about the medical center." What's fascinating to me is the relationship between their work at the medical center and their influence in their communities where they live. — WILLIAM "BILL" FULTON Director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University Maregina N. Shankar, nurse manager for the Head and Neck Specialty Clinics at Harris Health System's Ben Taub Hospital, came to Houston in 1988 from the Philippines. FOREIGN-BORN WORKERS ACCOUNT FOR OVER 16 PERCENT OF ALL U.S. HEALTH CARE WORKERS— 1.8 MILLION PEOPLE IN TOTAL.