Sixteenth Street Community Health holds online sessions to inform community about COVID-19
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers will be holding a series of Facebook live events in April for the community.
It’s called “Ask the doctor,” and they’ll have one of their doctors available for the public to ask questions about COVID-19.
They held their first session Wednesday, where they provided necessary information for at-risk communities in a culturally sensitive way.
Sixteenth Street Clinic held a half hour long Facebook live session in which patients and followers of their page could tune in and ask them questions they had on COVID-19.
Questions ranged from people who wondered what kind of pre-existing health conditions put them at a higher risk, whether COVID-19 was something they really needed to worry about, the importance of washing their hands and using masks, and how long this pandemic is expected to last.
The session was held in Spanish because Dr. Ramallo says the south side of the city is quickly becoming a hot spot. As of Tuesday, just at Sixteenth Street alone, they tested more than 400 people for symptoms, nearly a quarter of them testing positive for COVID-19.
It’s why Dr. Ramallo says it’s important to be able to get that necessary information, dispel the misinformation they have received, and do it for the community in the language they speak.
“For the people living on the south side of Milwaukee, there are a lot of barriers to health care and a lot of barriers to getting information, and sometimes the health literacy of our population can be a little bit lower. Providing information in a way that they can understand it easily is very important. But also providing it in a culturally sensitive way,” Dr. Ramallo said via Facetime.
“The south side has become a hot spot for cases now, and it is something that is happening rapidly. So now is the time to be able to stop the spread of it, and as long as our community is doing everything possible to practice social distancing, trying to avoid going to public places, and washing your hands is going to be something that is going to make the difference as to how we fare in the future.”
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers will be having these Q&A sessions every Wednesday in April from 1-1:30 in the afternoon. You can send them questions for the live session through their Facebook, or just tune in that same day and ask them live.
You can participate on the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center’s Facebook lives by clicking HERE.