Clinic bridges health care gap with Spanish services in Southwest Detroit

(CBS DETROIT) — A medical clinic in Southwest Detroit is now offering its services in English and Spanish to bridge a gap in healthcare.

Dino Salinas thought he’d never see nurse practitioner Scarlett Idema again when she left her old practice.

In Spanish, Salinas told CBS News Detroit that when you’re sick, you need a doctor you can trust and who understands you. He said he finds this in Idema, a native Spanish speaker from Costa Rica.

“There’s a big trust issue. I think with anything if I wouldn’t be able to communicate it with my own physician, I think there would be an issue. So, a language barrier is a big hurdle for people’s health,” Idema said.

Seeing a dire need for more Spanish-speaking health providers in Southwest Detroit, Idema started looking for a place to open her own practice and discovered a boarded-up storefront on West Vernor Highway and Lawndale Street.

“It was just abandoned and looked ugly. But sometimes you can find a diamond in the rough,” Idema said.

Idema did the extensive renovations and bought the equipment for Medicina Scarlett, using a $50,000 grant from Motor City Match.

“We did security for her. We sat outside in the middle of the night because we believe in her, and we believe that what she was bringing to the community is what we need for the future,” said patient Jessica Ramirez.

During Tuesday’s grand opening, Idema showed Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan the building’s before and after.

“It’s inspirational to see what you have done and it’s why I wanted to be here to kick this off, and every time I drive by, I’m going to smile,” Duggan said.

Maria Mason, a local landlord, helped provide housing for some of the staff clinic workers and is letting neighbors know about Medicina Scarlett through word of mouth.

“They don’t know where to start, and when you go to a different clinic, it’s all English and here, they feel a bit more comfortable, especially if, like, I can be able to guide them knowing her already,” Mason said.

To help patients keep costs low the clinic plans to open a pharmacy on-site in the coming weeks and expand its lab services later this year.

Andres Gutierrez

Andres Gutierrez joined CBS News Detroit in September 2022. He comes from KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, serving as a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor.