Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to Halle HealthCast, the Wellness Podcast from Halle Health. Your partner in helping you live your healthiest life. Every episode on our podcast addresses a new topic important to your health and wellbeing, bringing in doctors, specialists, and other health experts who offer advice and answer your most pressing questions.

Today's episode is all about awareness of Hispanic heritage and culture. National Hispanic Heritage Month begins in September, so it's the perfect time to learn more about this important topic. Let's begin with some awareness about the month itself. Did you know that unlike most monthly observances in this country, national Hispanic Heritage Month begins at mid-month and ends at mid-month as it is celebrated every year from September 15th to October 15th.

The reason is because September 15th is the anniversary of Independence for Latin American countries, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. While Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16th and September 18th, respectively, Columbus Day, which celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's, arrival in the Americas at Guhan.

An island in The Bahamas on October 12th also falls within this 30 day period. All right. Now for some personal perspective on National Hispanic Heritage Month, here with us is Jessica Aroyo. She's a bilingual Medicare sales associate for Health Alliance. Welcome Ms. Aroyo, and thank you so much for being with us today and sharing your knowledge, perceptions, and experience.

Let's begin with your own connection to today's topic as one of more than 62.5 million people of Hispanic heritage living in the United States. Ms. Aroyo, what does being Hispanic mean to you?

Jessica Arroyo: Yeah, so the first thing that comes to mind, of course, is the food, other than the food tasting delicious. I think I enjoy the process of creating the meal and watching the art of seeing it come together.

My mother's an amazing cook and she just fascinates me on how quickly she can make a delicious meal from scratch without any measuring. I especially enjoy watching the big pots come out because I know the entire family will be joining us to enjoy. Being Hispanic, to me is a celebration of life and being together as many in our country.

We come to the United States for better opportunities. And with that, we still hold onto the loved ones that we have near and cherish every moment. Being together is a level of comfort and power, and we know we can count on each other and together we can accomplish

Caitlin Whyte: anything. Thank you, Mr. Aroyo, for sharing that with us.

It seems preparing and enjoying food is a centerpiece for bringing people together in many different cultures, but clearly there are also obstacles to bringing people together English as a second language for a great many Hispanic people living in the US, for example, or simply getting medical help when it's needed.

What challenges do you see for Hispanic people in this country in learning and adapting to the US healthcare system, and how do you see those challenges being addressed?

Jessica Arroyo: Yeah, and just as you mentioned, healthcare is hard to navigate for an English speaker as a first language, and it can be a bit more complicated for a Hispanic individual that have that language barrier.

Many healthcare facilities do offer interpreting services, but many Hispanic individuals would prefer to bring a family member to help translate. A major component to that is because of the verbiage that's being used by a trained interpreter can be hard to follow for many on our community, and having a loved one together is a level of comfort and

Caitlin Whyte: trust.

Well, thank you Mr. Royal. That is certainly enlightening, certainly knowing how to navigate the healthcare system. Not only calls for but empowers patients to be their own best advocate. But how do we. How do all of us do that? Is this too a challenge that needs greater awareness during national Hispanic heritage month and beyond?

Absolutely.

Jessica Arroyo: Myself being first generation Mexican American and the oldest of five kids, I've learned and grown right along with my parents. We, of course, know the basics, like having your provider, an MD and your nurse. In healthcare, we know now that we have a care team taking care of the patient. Learning how our healthcare team is connected has been a great learning experience.

We also hold what we're told by a medical professional at a higher standard because they have the appropriate education. But what do we do and we disagree with what's being diagnosed the older I get and with a family of my own now I now know that we are able to speak up when we disagree. We know our conditions more than anyone, and it doesn't hurt to speak up and ask questions.

That's when we can rely on our healthcare team to really explore and learn what other avenues of treatment we can consider. Being our own advocate is only going to bring all of us the best health outcomes.

Caitlin Whyte: Absolutely will you make a terrific case for self-advocacy? Thank you. You're clearly a beacon for so many others, including all of those in the Hispanic community.

In fact, as a valued team member in the healthcare industry, your joining us today could qualify you as a role model for the many Hispanic listeners in our audience. So what advice would you have for them in seeking affordable healthcare and living their healthiest life as a Hispanic American?

Absolutely.

Jessica Arroyo: My advice would be to stay up to date with preventative services using my family. As an example, I still have relatives living in Mexico that only visit their provider when a problem arises in return, their providers don't have a baseline of health, which can cost more tests and a higher out-of-pocket expense.

This also circles back to learning the US healthcare. We're encouraged to be seen by our provider even when we feel

healthy.

Caitlin Whyte: No, that is so important to always stay on top of your preventative care. Now, our listeners may be wondering, are there certain health issues people in Hispanic majority communities in the US sometimes face perhaps because of economic disparities or other social determinants of health?

Jessica Arroyo: Yes, in my area we have a higher Hispanic population, and with that we do offer provider offices that really help the Hispanic population with staff members that are able to communicate with the patient directly as well as financial assistance. I can see in other areas where the Hispanic population is not as big, which will have lack of assistance for the population with that many in our communities don't have the service and affordability to seek care.

I also sometimes see a disconnect in general education. For example, in healthcare, we educate in the importance of a healthy diet. This message is generally addressed to an American consumer, not realizing a Hispanic patient has different foods in their diet. It can be a small change, like lower your intake of potatoes, which can be followed by a Hispanic patient, but in the meantime, they're still consuming rice and beans.

Small accommodations like this would really cater and improve the diet for our Hispanic

Caitlin Whyte: community. Of course. Thank you, Ms. Aroyo. As we begin to wrap up here, let's hit a more uplifting question. I know the Hispanic culture is one of love, togetherness, tradition, and community support. Specifically with regards to health and wellness, what are you most proud of in terms of how Hispanic Americans help and support one another?

Jessica Arroyo: I'm most proud when I see our Hispanic counterparts in the healthcare field. It brings me such a sense of accomplishment and an increasing opportunity to continue the journey of educating and health and wellness. It really wraps up the conversation we're having today. We continue to learn and navigate the barriers we encounter in every aspect.

Again, like navigating the healthcare

Caitlin Whyte: system. Oh, I love that. Thank you, Mr. Aroyo. And one last question for you. If you could communicate one key message about National Hispanic Heritage Month, what would it be? What would you want everyone to be aware of,

Jessica Arroyo: as most of you have probably caught on, but my key message is to continue helping each other and being together to the leaders in our community.

I encourage you to take that extra step to help and understand our fellow peers. The more we understand. Our communication style, what's important to our Hispanic peers, it will help all of us with our healthcare system.

Caitlin Whyte: Such marvelous responses and insights. Ms. Aroyo, you've been an absolute pleasure to have on our podcast.

Thank you so much for joining us and for all you do every day at Health Alliance for so many people and families. That concludes today's Halle HealthCast. Tune in next time as we tackle yet another topic important for your health and wellbeing. And remember, Halle Health is your partner in helping you live your healthiest life.

Visit halle.com. That's HA L l y.com for resources information tip. And much more. Let us help keep you and your family healthy and well. Thanks for listening. We hope you tune in again.