Days after ten immigrant families made public claims of poor medical care at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, the health provider says it has reached out to Centro Presente, the nonprofit that raised those allegations. In addition, Centro Presente said it is working with Attorney General Maura Healey’s office, which is gathering further information about the claims.
Healey’s office confirmed to GBH News Thursday that it has asked Centro Presente, an immigrant advocacy nonprofit, for more details about the allegations involving the health center. Patricia Montes, executive director at the nonprofit, said her group will send over those detailed reports today.
“I believe that this is a good step in the right direction, because we hope in the future, the attorney general can conduct an investigation to make sure that all these cases are not the result of medical discrimination in the clinic against Central American immigrants,” Montes said.
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center also reached out to Healey’s office earlier this week in an effort to welcome any inquiries. The center said it first heard about the families' claims this week through a press release and from media. In a Facebook interview with El Mundo Boston yesterday, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center President Greg Wilmot told Alberto Vasallo III that the provider has since reached out to Centro Presente.
“I personally have welcomed Centro Presente to meet with me and our team to share their concerns. We've been in contact with the Attorney General's Office to welcome their involvement, if that is something that they feel appropriate,” he said in the interview.
According to EBNHC, of the roughly 120,000 patients the center serves each year, more than 70,000 of them identify as Latino. Many of those patients, including some of the ten making the allegations, are undocumented.
In a statement Thursday, the organization said that largely Latino patient population is one of "many reasons we are deeply saddened, this week, to learn of the concerns raised by Centro Presente." The organization also said it serves all and is "committed to making sure our patients are comfortable and confident in the care we provide."
One of the claims of improper care came from a mother who said her baby was assessed at their clinic and sent home. He died the next day in an ambulance.
The organization said that while it can’t discuss specific patient cases due to patient privacy laws, “the loss of a child is always devastating. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family that has shared their story publicly and we take Centro Presente’s allegation seriously.”
On Thursday, a second family came forward to share their story with GBH News.
Evelyn Murcia said she took her 2-year-old son to East Boston Neighborhood Health Center in September 2021 with a large bump on his penis. A nurse examined him, said everything was "normal" and told the family to go home. Murcia said she didn’t hear from the clinic again.
A few days later, the swelling increased and the wound began leaking pus and fluid, causing the child a lot of pain. The family took him to Boston Medical Center’s emergency room, where four doctors performed an examination and treated what turned out to be an extensive bacterial infection. Murcia was given antibiotics and creams to care for Lucas’ wounds, and he recovered.
“My call is for the clinic pay attention to what we say. I took my son to the clinic so that he could be examined and so that I could be told what was wrong,” Murcia said. “But instead, the nurse ignored me and didn't do a thorough examination — and look at what he had to go through.”
