Details on Health Services for Undocumented Migrants in CT

Undocumented migrants receive health care in Connecticut at no cost to them. So it is vitally important to ask the following questions, especially if these services are taxpayer (aka “publicly”) funded. The answers to the posited questions are taken directly from the referenced website at the bottom of the article.

What does migrant health care entail?

Connecticut is one of the few states that immediately initiates Medicaid upon entry for refugees, evacuees, and asylees. This allows for this population to be insured and receive affordable services at health centers across the state, including Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI)

During initial visits, patients undergo a variety of screenings including refugee health screenings, behavioral health screenings, and medical and chronic list screenings. The comprehensive refugee health assessment includes the following assessments:

• immunization review & update;
• tuberculosis screening & diagnosis;
• Hepatitis B & C Screening;
• HIV & sexually transmitted infections/disease;
• parasite screening;
• lead screening;
• mental health screening; and,
• other screenings: dental, hearing, vision, nutrition/vitamin levels, pregnancy, lab testing.

Other aspects of the visit center on collecting stool samples, monitoring for bacteria, aggregating vaccine records and catching people up with vaccines. The comprehensive clinical and wellbeing services often takes an average of six hours to finish.

CHCI staff aims to continuously improve the experience of patients by implementing multiple feedback tools, including daily morning huddles. During the huddles, staff highlight key care components for providers to monitor and ensure a proper feedback loop between staff, clinicians, and patients. 

How is this system funded?

IRIS led the Afghan resettlement program in the state and created a co-sponsor process, which encouraged other organizations (primarily community or faith-based groups) to lead resettlement tasks. These included raising a minimum of $10,000 for an incoming refugee family, identifying housing, job search, and advising on receiving public benefits (e.g., healthcare/Medicaid, SNAP, education).

Which organizations and people are engaged?

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) like the CHCI have a longstanding history of working with underserved populations, and thus, are uniquely positioned to address the health and social needs of refugees.

CHCI partnered with Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI), and third-party organizations to provide integrated primary care and health services to hundreds of Afghan families arriving in Connecticut. The clinic also administered services to refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Rwanda. CHCI provided these services during a Saturday clinic starting in November 2021.

IRIS is a non-profit agency that provides housing, health, case management, employment, education, and legal support for refugees and other displaced people who are resettling in Connecticut.

Lilian Gutierrez, CHCI Deputy Regional Vice President, developed internal and external partnerships to implement the clinic.

External partners included the State of Connecticut, the Department of Public Health, IRIS and CIRI. There were also internal partnerships with

Amy Taylor, Vice President of CHCI’s West Region;

Kasey Harding-Wheeler, Director of the Center for Key Populations;

Access to Care staff, and other critical clinical staff.

These partnerships enabled the education of staff and ensured that various components of the clinic were developed, including refugee health assessments and how to provide ongoing care. Lilian explained this process: “We strategized before the refugees arrived. We did this with the notion that other healthcare facilities could not respond to the refugees’ immediate needs. Because education is critical to ensuring compliance with refugee health assessments and forming cultural awareness to assess and reassess the needs of our patients, staff received training from the State of Connecticut and participated in cultural awareness sessions.”

Is there an end goal, or is this in perpetuity?

The authors assert, “Furthermore, it is vital that there are sustainable and long term solutions that enable FQHCs to continue providing this care. National, state, and local policy solutions, including increased funding, workforce development, and increase collaboration will help health centers build out their refugee health systems and increase workforce capacity to train clinicians and staff on best practices in refugee and migrant health…..policymakers must help address the social needs of refugees by increasing access to social services, creating pathways to long-term residency.

It is important to note that the state of Connecticut refers to the “refugees” from Afghanistan as “evacuees” due to the expedited humanitarian parole status granted. However, local organizations and community members typically refer to this population as “refugees.” This designation does not provide a complete long-term path to permanent residence in the US and hinders the number of public benefits received.”

While the program does not explicitly state, “This is an ongoing program with no end date”, administrators do not seem interested in ending it.

More details can be found on the Weitzman Institute:

www.weitzmaninstitute.org

Contact: ctltribune@proton.me