Residency program helps physicians understand Spanish-speaking patients

A health residency program in central Washington aims to make primary care more accessible for rural Hispanic and Latino/x/e communities.

In the Yakima Valley, LIDERES-LC, which stands for Language Instruction and Dedicated Education of Residents for the Latinx Community, is a residency program led by Community Health of Central Washington.

The program trains physicians to understand Hispanic and Latino/x/e cultures. It serves patients with limited English proficiency.

Dr. Anna Fellmann is the director of the LIDERES-LC program. She’s also the associate program director for the Central Washington Family Medicine Residency Program.

“There is a need to understand this population and to provide effective care in a linguistically and culturally competent way,” Fellmann said.

Clinical practice and community engagement projects help to better connect with the communities, Fellmann said.

She says six residents are in the program right now. It serves both Yakima and Kittitas counties. The goal is for the residents to continue serving in Washington’s rural areas.

Dr. Carlos Velarde is one of the program’s residents. Originally from Peru, Velarde immigrated to the U.S. as a child. He went to medical school after watching his parents struggle to get quality health care.

“I saw my parents, with multiple jobs, not having insurance,” Velarde said.

His father worked in construction and faced job-related accidents.

“He broke both his wrists. They needed to do surgery.  But he didn’t have the money. He couldn’t understand the doctors,” he said.

Velarde said being a doctor is his way of helping others who have had similar experiences.  

Velarde said the residency program is meant for any doctor, regardless of background. Even with his Hispanic and Latino/x/e roots, he finds it critical to understand a diverse community.

“I spent most of my life with Peruvians, but I know every country has its own cultures and beliefs. I want to be treating the whole population of immigrants that come here,” he said.

Velarde said understanding cultural diversity makes a difference in his communication with patients.

“They feel like, ‘Oh, there’s a doctor here that knows where I’m coming from, has somewhat my same culture, and understands what I’m going through’,” Velarde said.

Yakima Valley Libraries is partnering with the program.

“We are trying to enrich the didactics education for the resident doctors by introducing them to the local Latino history in regards to social determinants of health,” Carlos Pelley, an archivist librarian with YVL, said.