February 09, 2012 - Bridging the Gulf Between Refugees’ Healthcare Needs and Knowledge

Burlington, Vermont is home to over 2,000 refugees who often settle without an understanding of how the American healthcare system works, how to access care, or their rights and responsibilities as patients.

Schweitzer Fellows Anastasia Coutinho and Peter Cooch are doing something about it.

Building on the groundwork laid by previous Schweitzer Fellows Erica Pascuillo and Delia French, Coutinho and Cooch (who are students at the University of Vermont College of Medicine) partnered with the Community Health Center of Burlington (CHCB) to design a culturally competent medical orientation program that bridges the gulf between Bhutanese refugees’ healthcare needs and knowledge. Their program has been so successful that the CHCB hopes to expand it to all refugees entering the state.

CLICK HERE to read a Five Questions for a Fellow interview with Coutinho and Cooch on ASF's official blog.

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