Imagine a hallway at the back of a pediatric outpatient clinic at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center buzzing with patients, parents and clinicians. A mother holding her infant knocks on the door of an office. “One moment!” says a voice from inside. Seconds later, a lean Peruvian woman with gentle smile lines and wispy auburn hair opens the door. On a typical day, she says, the scene might unfold something like this:
“Hola! Espere, por favor. (Hi! Please wait.),” says Flor Giusti, a bilingual social worker at the Children’s Medical Practice. “Estare con usted breve. Sientese. (I’ll be with you shortly. Sit down.)”
Giusti picks up the phone receiver on her desk and says she will call back as soon as the forms are ready. After making a note on a piece of paper, she turns to her visitor: “Como esta? (How are you?)”
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Giusti has maintained an in-person presence at the Children’s Medical Practice so that she can be available to help adults who come to the clinic with their children. Along with pediatric medicine, the clinic provides integrated care for the parents.
Most of the families she sees are Hispanic (from Spanish-speaking culture or origin) or Latino (from Latin American culture or origin) and live in ZIP code 21224, where Bayview Medical Center is located. According to City-Data.com, nearly 20% of the population in this area is Hispanic or Latino.
“I check to see if the family is having problems, especially this past year,” Giusti says. “Do they have money for food? Are they receiving benefits for their children? Are they aware of the places giving COVID vaccines?”
Since taking this position in 2011, the social worker has gained extensive experience navigating ways for families to receive assistance with health insurance, food, housing and other basic needs. During normal times, these processes can be confusing. During the pandemic, Giusti says, “It’s been a nightmare to find help. With all the restrictions over the last year, nothing has been easy to obtain.”
She says she has encountered mothers who lost jobs cooking or washing dishes at restaurants, and fathers whose hours as day laborers were reduced. If the parents are immigrants without Social Security numbers, they must provide proof of employment to get government-provided resources such as food and health insurance for which their U.S.-born children qualify.
During the pandemic, many of the people Giusti helps have struggled to obtain the required papers from employers whose businesses have reduced operating hours or closed their doors.
Similarly, it has been difficult to reach the staff at government offices who help coordinate such services. “Parents need to provide proof of income and are told to mail it in, but people are not receiving the mail on the other end,” says Giusti.
Giusti helps mothers sign up for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food program, obtain emergency medical assistance to cover the costs of labor and delivery, and enroll newborns in health insurance.
In addition to trying to ensure the families’ needs are met, Giusti helps address the cultural barriers they face. One parent was confused when a doctor asked her to make a medical decision after the parent received all the medical information and options. The mother didn’t understand because she considers the physician to be the expert.
“They think, ‘If I could make the decision, why would I come to the doctor?’” says Giusti. “American culture places value on independence and self-sufficiency, whereas many of my families do not have this ingrained from their culture.”
Social Work | We Care for You
Everyone who comes through our doors at Johns Hopkins Bayview gets world-class medical care, but our team of social workers help connect them with additional support or services they may need after they leave.
