Johns Hopkins Medicine doctors Amelita Woodruff and Luis Garza believe health care is a human right. That’s why the two volunteer at the Esperanza Center in their spare time. The Esperanza Center is a resource hub for the immigrant community in Baltimore. Woodruff and Garza work in the health clinic and provide free services to the patients.

“The Esperanza Center has excellent patient service, and the doctors are guardians of my health, protecting my life day by day,” says Fernando, an Esperanza Center patient who immigrated from Guatemala.

According to Ericka Reid, Esperanza Center’s outreach and operations manager, the organization’s mission is to welcome immigrants and provide services that improve their lives. Reid says the center is open to all immigrants and provides health services for individuals who do not qualify for health insurance. The Esperanza Center also offers educational services such as English and Spanish classes, legal services, social services like applying for benefits, and interpretation services.

Woodruff, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been volunteering with the Esperanza Center for two years. Woodruff says working with immigrants is a passion of hers because her mother immigrated from Panama.

“Volunteering has made me more grateful for the life that I have,” Woodruff says. “It makes me want to pay it forward much more.”

Woodruff provides primary and preventive care for immigrant survivors of torture, and performs pro bono forensic evaluations through HEAL, a partnership between Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Esperanza Center, Asylee Women Enterprise and Loyola University. The evaluations document physical or psychological signs of torture or trauma, and the results support the cases of patients who are seeking asylum.

“We see so many cases, both children and adults,” Woodruff says. “We often see clients who have entered the United States in the past year. They have not encountered medical care aside from being born in a hospital. They have traveled miles to get to safety.”

Recently, Woodruff was performing a forensic evaluation for a patient. When the appointment began, the patient was reclusive and answered in short sentences. Through Woodruff’s expertise, she was able to make the client feel safe.

“By the end of the appointment, she told me the whole story, and we hugged,” Woodruff says. “I think it changed her outlook on health care and the United States in just one appointment. Sharing her story helped her feel free.”

Yaneldis Boullon, the program manager of Esperanza Center’s health clinic, says Woodruff is making a real difference because her primary care patients feel heard and feel she is an ally.

“The work she’s doing is incredible,” Boullon says. “She is very committed and compassionate. She sees a group of patients who have experienced trauma. She is willing to take the patients under her wing and provide care that is trauma-informed. They are receiving the human care they need.”

Garza, a professor of dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been volunteering with the Esperanza Center since 2019.

“The Esperanza Center is a fantastic resource for some of the most vulnerable folks in Baltimore,” Garza says. “These are folks working the hardest jobs like washing dishes, working in tough construction jobs and cleaning houses. They often don’t have access to health care because they don’t have benefits. Every patient has a story. Their trips to the United States are harrowing. There’s poetry and drama in all of our patients’ lives.” 

Garza says most of his patients are from Latin America, so volunteering gives him the opportunity to practice Spanish.

“I feel like I’m talking to my own family,” Garza says. “What’s a huge joy for me is that it is a way to reconnect with patients. I can get to know the patients and talk with them. I talk to them about anything they’re worried about related to skin, hair and nails. Seeing humanity in the eyes of our patients is important, and this is a way to connect with that.”

Boullon adds that the health-services patients love Garza because he is so knowledgeable.

“Every time someone sees him, all they have are compliments,” Boullon says. “He will help us make hospital appointments. He has a caring nature, and that stands out. Dr. Garza makes patients feel safe. His expertise helps him decide what the patients need. It makes a huge difference, and patients don’t have to wait so long for care.”

Garza says volunteering and working with patients from different backgrounds has helped open his eyes to all the different ways life can happen in the same city.

“The truth is that there are so many different experiences happening,” Garza says. “You are meeting the person who made your sandwich for lunch or the person who cleaned the window in your office. So many people touch your life in a way that’s sometimes invisible to us. When I get home, I feel happy that I served the community. I benefit as much as the patients do.”

More information about the Esperanza Center.