IT has probably happened to most Pinoys in the US once or twice. Overindulging in lola’s paksiw or drinking the special spiced vinegar that came with the package of bagnet gave one a case of hyperacidity.
Going to the doctor meant being hooked up to an I.V., undergoing a CT scan, and spending so many hours in the hospital lingering for results. The hyperacidity is intensifi ed as much by the long wait as the embarrassing task of explaining to the doctor and nurses why that much vinegar was downed in the fi rst place.
But try a quick trip to a Pinoy doctor’s clinic and you will be sent home with instructions on which over the counter antacid to take as well as a request for your mother’s spiced vinegar recipe.
It is this too common and a bit comical situation that one Pinoy doctor in Las Vegas had observed in his practice in this city.
Not so much a language barrier, but a cultural difference sometimes makes it difficult for Filipinos to relay their symptoms to a doctor who is not Pinoy, Dr. Benito Calderon, president of the Philippine Medical Association of Nevada (PMAN) said.
To solve this, PMAN will soon launch a campaign to connect some 200 Filipino physicians in Las Vegas with over 100,000 Pinoy residents of this city.
"We are planning to launch this campaign called Pinoy ba and doctor mo," Dr. Calderon told Asian Journal in a telephone interview last week.
"We need to tell the patients that we have these services of Filipino doctors here in Las Vegas ," he said.
Pinoy ba ang doctor mo?", which literally translates to "Is your doctor Filipino?" aims to introduce to Las Vegas Filipinos the services of these physicians who are either Philippine-educated or grew up in a culture that is distinctly Pinoy.
These are the doctors who will understand Filipinos’ customs, penchants and habits that directly or indirectly affect their health, Dr. Calderon explained.
At the center of the information campaign is a comprehensive list of Filipino doctors practicing in Las Vegas , including each one’s specialty and hospital affiliations.
To be launched on November 7, the list can be viewed on the organization’s website pmanevada.org. The list will also include the specialization and hospital affiliation of each physician.
Complete contact information of each doctor’s office is also expected to give Filipinos more choices of clinics, as it will give them an idea which one is nearest to where they live.
Dr. Calderon said the project is expected to yield savings for Filipinos who will be spared from undergoing too many medical procedures that are sometimes not necessary.
At the same time, it will also aid the US government in saving funds by paring down costly medical methods that drive up healthcare costs. The PMAN project will also include a similar directory of Las Vegas Filipino doctors in booklet form that will be available to Filipinos early next year.
Dr. Calderon is scheduled to meet with Philippine Amabassador to the US Willy Gaa in November in a bid to widen the campaign to other states as well. "I am hoping to have this campaign nationwide to benefit Filipinos in other parts of the US ," Dr. Calderon said.
( Published October 29, 2009 in Asian Journal Las Vegas p. A1 )
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