Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston requested an investigation on March 15 into East Boston Neighborhood Health Center’s health practices, following reports of discrimination by multiple immigrant families.
According to the investigation request, which was submitted to the attorney general, EBNHC denied patients “adequate services,” failed to conduct proper tests and miscommunicated with families, reportedly leading to severe illness or even death.
“As the primary healthcare providers in many of Massachusetts’ communities of color, community health clinics are crucial to combatting these alarming racial and ethnic health care disparities,” the request said. “Unfortunately, EBNHC is failing to meet this critical role.”
The request appeals to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Public Health to open a joint investigation to inspect both the possible discrimination against marginalized groups and the oversights of medical care.
EBNHC — the largest community health center in Massachusetts, according to its website — said it reached out to the attorney general’s office “proactively” to encourage an investigation.
“We take this allegation very seriously,” EBNHC wrote in a statement. “Every patient is a member of our extended family, and we will navigate this together with urgency and compassion.”
The Daily Free Press has been informed that the Department of Public Health is currently investigating the matter.
Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente — an organization that works to advance the rights of Central American immigrants in Massachusetts — said Centro Presente started receiving complaints about EBNHC as early as 2018 and continued through to 2020.
“We have a very strong connection with the Central American immigrant community,” Montes said. “We always try to understand the internal dynamics of the families, the problems that they face, their challenges, in order to understand how we can better support the family.”
Centro Presente advocates for immigrants who fall under temporary protected status, among other issues. A month ago, it launched a public campaign to raise awareness of the allegations surrounding the health center.
“So what’s happening is that because we’re talking about undocumented immigrants, mostly female, usually their voices are not being heard, because of who they are,” Montes said.
Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston — which provides free legal support for people of color and immigrants by partnering with law firms and communities — joined the effort a few weeks after Centro Presente published a Feb. 7 press release about families coming forward to share their experience with EBNHC.
“Working with an organization like them is helping us to amplify the voices of the Central American communities, basically the voices of women that are being affected by this situation that is taking place,” Montes said.
The investigation request includes an appendix of nine reports detailing problems associated with EBNHC’s care, seven of which concern women and/or mothers.
“The outcome that the families want is to see better protocols, to see the clinic doing a better job respecting dignity and respecting the rights of undocumented immigrants, especially women, because they also deserve quality health care,” Montes said.
