Mobile Health Clinics: A Lifeline for Galveston’s Vietnamese Fishermen
As healthcare costs continue to rise and federal support dwindles for commercial fishermen, a unique initiative in Galveston, Texas, is offering much-needed relief. A free mobile health clinic is providing essential medical services to the Vietnamese fishing community right at the docks.
Commercial fishing remains one of the riskiest professions in the United States, yet access to healthcare for many fishermen is limited. On the Texas Gulf Coast, a mobile clinic operated by UTHealth Houston is stepping in to fill this gap. These clinics focus on offering free primary care services to fishermen, many of whom are Vietnamese immigrants, directly on the docks.
Along the Galveston shoreline, amidst the cries of seagulls and the gentle lapping of waves against shrimping boats, nurse Martha Diaz is seen tending to a fisherman’s wounds. “OK. So I’m going to clean your foot and clean your wound, OK? And then we’re going to put a bandage back on it. And you’ll need to change it every week,” she instructs, while a medical student translates her words into Vietnamese.
At the bustling Docside Clinics, held monthly, shrimpers receive not only checkups for conditions like hypertension and diabetes but also access to food, clothing, and social and legal services. Shannon Guillot-Wright, a professor of occupational health at UTHealth Houston, initiated these clinics over four years ago. Her aim was to support fishermen who often lack insurance and face language barriers. “Felt like it was a population that was quite literally invisible,” she remarks.
The importance of the clinic’s work has intensified as healthcare expenses surge. The situation was further complicated by an executive order signed in April by President Trump, which deregulated commercial fishing and reduced safety monitoring. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commercial fishing has a fatality rate more than 40 times the national average. Initially, the clinics aimed to address physical injuries from accidents on the job, but Guillot-Wright found that truly listening to the fishermen was key to building trust. “And many of them would talk about, look, I haven’t had access to a physician in 10 years,” she notes.
Community health workers like sisters Cecile “CucHuyen” Roberts and Cuc Hoa Trieu, who immigrated from Vietnam in the 1980s, play a crucial role as translators and advocates. “I know how to make them feel comfortable ’cause I’m, like, one of them,” Roberts explains.
Roberts has assisted a fisherman named H in obtaining medical care. H, who withheld his full name due to ongoing permanent residency renewal, recalls breaking his pinky finger on the job and missing follow-ups due to a lack of insurance, leaving his finger permanently bent. He recounts witnessing a fatal accident on a nearby boat: “Somebody – he dead. He dead the boat (ph).”
Kait Guild from Harvard Medical School’s Mobile Health Map emphasizes the significance of mobile clinics in rebuilding trust with those outside conventional healthcare systems. “It’s providing care in accessible spaces, places where underserved and marginalized community members and patients of all backgrounds feel safe,” Guild says.
Guillot-Wright underscores the clinic’s mission to serve often-overlooked populations, stating, “We don’t always do the work thinking about where our food comes from.”
As the clinic concludes its day, a fisherman leaves with his foot newly bandaged, a testament to the crucial role these mobile clinics play in supporting Galveston’s fishing community.
(SOUNDBITE OF J DILLA SONG, “SO FAR TO GO (FEAT. COMMON AND D’ANGELO”)
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