anxiety. stress. Workplace challenges. Like many of us, Luis Emilio Suarez has struggled to improve his mental health, especially during the pandemic. As a native Spanish speaker, he had first-hand experience of the challenges of receiving care.
Suarez initially struggled with the personal and societal costs of doing nothing, recognizing that there were many others like him who suffered in silence and prejudice. Then he acted. Mr. Suarez founded Sanarai, a health tech company that provides easy, affordable, and culturally sensitive treatments through telemedicine. Sanarai is more than just a virtual therapist’s office. The company demonstrates what it looks like to provide affordable, high-quality care and shows that it is possible to build a sustainable company focused on health equity. .
The California Healthcare Foundation is a strategic investor in healthcare innovations like Sanarai and seeks to collaborate with new social entrepreneurs and co-investors. Learn more about this work in our podcast, Making Waves in Health Tech. On this show, Janet Boachie and I speak with innovative partners who are making health care more accessible, especially for those who face the greatest obstacles to getting the care they need.
Below are excerpts from an interview with Sanalai’s Luis Suarez.
Boachi: What is Sanalai? Can you tell us about what you created?
Suarez: We are a mental health platform for Spanish speakers. Our mission is to provide affordable, culturally sensitive, Spanish-language psychological support to the Latinx community in the United States, Mexico, and Argentina.
Martinez: Can you explain what the user experience will be like?
Suarez: It’s very easy to book a session online. We offer various types of sessions. The initial consultation fee is $20 and you will meet with a psychologist to see if you are happy. Individual sessions are 50 minutes and cost $49, while couples sessions are also available for 50 minutes and $59. We also have availability for the next day. So you can see all the calendars and find and book a time that fits your schedule. Payments are accepted through the platform. You will receive confirmation, a link to the session, and an appointment reminder.
MARTINEZ: You mentioned culturally and linguistically appropriate care. As a Latina woman who has sought mental health services for myself and my family, it is extremely difficult to find providers who speak Spanish and understand my culture. Can you talk a little bit about why this kind of proper care is important for Spanish speakers?
Suarez: That’s exactly right. That’s why we exist. Because there is a huge gap in covering the needs of the Latinx community when it comes to mental health. And to put that into perspective, only 5% of mental health professionals in the United States speak Spanish, compared to 13% of the population who speak Spanish at home.
And treatment rates are well below average. A surge in demand for services and a shortage of mental health professionals are exacerbating the problems in the Latino community. These numbers make finding services in Spanish three times more difficult.
It’s not just the language part, it’s also a cultural element. One of our clients was happy that her therapist understood that her mother stayed with her in the apartment for a month when she came to visit from Latin America. That doesn’t cross the line, right? That’s not uncommon in the Latino community.
Listen to the full conversation here and listen to future episodes by following Making Waves in Health Tech on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hilda Martinez
Hilda Martinez is a senior communications officer at the CHCF Innovation Fund. The fund invests in technology and services companies that have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of care or improve access to care for low-income Californians. She also leads CHCF’s communications efforts regarding telehealth. read more
Details about this author:
Healthcare challenges require Latino, Black entrepreneurs to use telemedicine in wake of lingering pandemic to provide care for all, one meal at a time
Source link
