OUR STORY - it all started with one patient. 

MedLuna is a Latina-owned business and the home for Spanish medical badges. But, there is so much more to it than that! MedLuna is meant to raise awareness about the language barrier between the patient and healthcare providers. There are a lot of health disparities in the US Healthcare system, especially towards minorities. The most affected group is Latinos. 

I started as a volunteer interpreter at a clinic and I was worried about who would help Spanish-speaking patients when I wasn't there. I figured there could be some way to provide a temporary solution until a medical interpreter arrived. Suddenly, my Spanish Med badges were born. 

As a first-generation Latina, I remember having to translate/interpret certain things for my mom growing up. I didn't want kids to have the same pressure some of us had. At least this way, there would be a way to interpret some of the harder medical words. 

Breaking down the language barrier, just even a little bit can provide a sense of comfort to a patient and it will build that trust between patient and healthcare provider. Which can lead to better patient outcomes. But, just knowing the language doesn't have to be the only thing that can make a patient more comfortable! Being culturally aware is another way to help with that barrier. There have been many scientific papers that have discussed and shown the repercussions of the language barrier in healthcare. This is a problem in healthcare that is extremely overlooked. 

As a pre-med student, I would like to do my part to try and help the broken system be fixed just a little bit! Despite growing up in SoCal where it is primarily Spanish Speaking, there are not a lot of healthcare workers who speak medical Spanish. Time to change that!