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Preschool uses health fair to bridge language chasm

Children of the World Preschool believes in reaching out to parents who don't speak English by offering translators.

By RITA FARLOW
Published November 9, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - For nearly two decades, the mission of Children of the World Preschool has been to help little ones prepare for the American school system. Initially called the Southeast Asian Preschool, the school was opened in 1988 to provide a support network for the children of refugees and immigrants coming to the United States from Vietnam.

Staffers - many bilingual - teach their charges English and educate them about the American social and academic skills that will prepare them for kindergarten. But Children of the World educators also recognize the importance of reaching out to their parents, who will play a major role in their children's education. So they help parents maneuver the system, often by offering the value of a reliable translator.

Last Saturday, the preschool took its message to the community by cohosting a free health fair with USF's Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association. The medical screenings and information pamphlets printed in several languages were available for everyone, but the focus was on local non-English speaking residents. Translators in Vietnamese, Korean, Spanish and others were available to offer basic medical tests and explain results.

Mai Thanh Nguyen, 24, a student in the USF College of Nursing, helped translate for a 68-year-old Vietnamese man who had heart surgery in 1993 and was getting his blood pressure checked by a medical student.

"He goes to the doctor and complains of shortness of breath, and the doctor kind of pushes him off. I think it's because of the language barrier, so I wrote him a note (in English) with all of his complaints. In the (emergency room), I see a lot of patients who don't speak the language. I feel like my role as a nurse is to slowly explain," she said.

Nguyen said that although it's hard to find a local general practitioner who speaks Vietnamese, it's nearly impossible to find a specialist. And even if the patient finds a doctor who speaks the same language, health insurance is always an issue. "I've noticed in the families that we serve, they hesitate to go to health professionals. Number one reason - it's financial. Not everyone has health insurance, so it would be out of pocket with copays, fees," said Marylina Carbungco, director of refugee and immigrant support services with United Methodist Cooperative Ministries, which operates the school.

The preschool publicized the health fair by word of mouth, recognizing that many in its target group don't read newspapers printed in English. Lisa Choe, president of the student medical association, said they were interested in working with the preschool because it has an established community of immigrants.

"The Asian communities are really kind of scattered. They have a pretty big Asian population there," Choe said. "We just wanted to come out and spread the word and educate them a little bit."

After having their blood pressure and glucose levels checked, patients were offered information on diabetes, hepatitis B, glaucoma, breast and prostrate cancer, and a variety of other medical conditions. They could sign up for a free smoke detector or get information on Even Start, a family literacy program.

As organizers planned the event, they decided to expand it to include other information that may be hard to come by for those who don't speak English. "In the beginning it was just meant to be a health service fair, but it just evolved into more awareness of different resources, social services, more health safety and prevention. Our main goal for our agency is to provide education," said Carbungco.

Barbara Crow, preschool director, said they hope to make the free health fair an annual event, perhaps moving up the date to offer school physicals for children. In the meantime, staffers will continue to help their young charges make the transition to elementary school as they help their parents and other immigrants work within a system that doesn't speak their language.

Children of the World Preschool is located at Hope Lutheran Church, 1801 62nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg. For information, call 526-0017.

[Last modified November 9, 2005, 00:39:17]