South Florida Clinics Offer ‘Cuban-Style’ Health Services Targeting Hispanic Elderly
"Cuban-style" health clinics in South Florida that offer social activities along with no-cost health care services to the elderly "could well be a vision of the future of health care in" the U.S., the Miami Herald reports. Two clinics -- Leon Medical Center in Hialeah and CAC Florida clinic in Westchester -- provide seniors with dental and vision care at no cost, in addition to a regular primary care physician and access to specialists several times a week, but the clinics also provide card games, exercise, and English classes, refreshments, bingo tournaments and other events. The clinics emphasize a "warm and friendly" atmosphere, Mike Fernandez, a Coral Gables entrepreneur who helped develop the CAC model, said. Steven Ullmann, a health care economist at the University of Miami, said the clinics, which focus primarily on Hispanic patients, are successful because "they're culturally sensitive and ... have a focus on primary care." Because of the clinics' Cuban origins, they traditionally have focused on Hispanics, but some clinic officials say they have plans to expand them into other areas (Dorschner, Miami Herald, 3/12).
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