Springfield, Ohio’s public health infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the influx of Haitian immigrants who are largely unvaccinated against infectious diseases and have not received basic medical care.
Health officials on the ground say unfounded and sensational rumors about immigrants have obscured the very real strain that hospitals and clinics have felt after between 12,000 and 15,000 Haitian immigrants arrived in the city over the past five years, bringing which increased its population by 25 percent in the last three years. .
In Haiti, polio vaccination rates have ranged from 60 to 90 percent, while measles vaccinations have hovered around 45 percent over the past four years, according to the World Health Organization.
In the United States, those rates are around 94 percent.
The rapid influx of people into the small town has meant longer wait times to see a doctor for both citizens and newcomers, as well as more time doctors must spend with patients due to the language barrier.
Over the past three years, Springfield has seen an influx of about 15,000 immigrants from Haiti who arrived legally under the government’s Temporary Protected Status program.
Governor Mike DeWine has acknowledged that the increasing pressure on Springfield’s healthcare system has had detrimental effects on both immigrants and natural-born citizens.
Announcing the construction of new clinics in the city, he said: “Our goal is to reduce waiting times and be able to provide the necessary health care services for everyone, whether they have lived in this community all their lives or have simply come to the community recently.
The Republican leader said the new clinics would address “an important need” and reach more people seeking primary health care.
Since their creation, these clinics have seen approximately 100 new patients, although it is not clear how many of those people were immigrants.
Most Haitian immigrants are in the U.S. legally under the federal government program that allows people from Haiti to live and work in the U.S. for a period of time because their home country is dealing with a host of problems, including the fallout from a disastrous earthquake in 2010, persistent political unrest, and rampant gang violence.
And many Haitian immigrants chose Springfield, Ohio, for its low cost of living and good employment opportunities.
In general, new arrivals to the United States from struggling countries have not been fully immunized, putting them at risk of contracting diseases and possibly spreading diseases without knowing it.
Haiti, for example, was one of the last countries in the world to begin distributing the Covid vaccine. But continued distrust in government agencies has contributed to lingering vaccine hesitancy as many arrive in the United States.
Additionally, Haiti’s public health system has been struggling for decades, and many residents are unable to seek primary health care services, such as vaccines and diabetes medications.
TO survey of Haiti’s healthcare landscape reported that 57 percent of healthcare facilities did not meet quality access standards.
In Ohio, there has been concern among county health officials about recent increases in HIV infections identified there, although they have not attributed these increases directly to immigrants.
The number of people diagnosed with the virus increased from 142 in 2018 to 178 in 2022.
There were four active cases of tuberculosis in Ohio’s Clark County, which encompasses Springfield, in 2023, an increase of three cases in 2022 and one in 2021, out of an overall population of 135,000 people.
At the same time, countywide rates Vaccine-preventable diseases have decreased.
These diseases include Haemophilus influenza (invasive disease), influenza-associated hospitalization, measles, meningitis (viral and bacterial), mumps, whooping cough, rubella, group A streptococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and chickenpox.
In 2020, the year in which immigration from Haiti linked to political and social unrest skyrocketed, the county recorded 120 infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
In 2021, that rate was 34 cases per 100,000. It skyrocketed to 216 per capita in 2022, likely due to the general decline in immunity following isolation due to Covid. It decreased again to around 91 per capita in 2023.
Gov. Mike DeWine (pictured) recognized the growing tension affecting immigrants and natural-born citizens, announcing in September that the city would build two new health clinics to address “a significant need there.”
Ken Gordon, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health, acknowledged the challenges of Springfield’s health systems and said CBS News The department maintains close surveillance to prevent possible outbreaks of measles, whooping cough and even polio, which can be prevented with vaccines.
There is no indication that polio is spreading.
But officials on the ground have suggested that the city’s rapid population growth has left its clinics understaffed and ill-prepared.
When a significant influx of new residents arrives in a community, an increase in diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and measles is expected to occur. Population growth can lead to closer interactions between people, facilitating the spread of infectious diseases, particularly among those who may be unvaccinated or have limited access to health care.
Clark County Health Commissioner Chris Cook saying: ‘No system is configured with much space or capacity.
“We simply don’t have doctors sitting around with nothing to do in our health system.”
And he added: ‘Hospitals are the health care system in Haiti. And there aren’t even many of those. So things like preventive care and primary health care providers in Haiti don’t really exist.”
Thousands of people have arrived in need of extensive primary care services and treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes.
According to the Clark County Combined Health District (CCCHD), “This exceeded expectations.”
Last month, the governor greenlit a minimum of $2.5 million in state funding to expand Springfield’s primary health care infrastructure.
The funds will help the Ohio Department of Health and local health care providers offer more services to residents, increase the capacity of local health care centers, offer more vaccines and health screenings, and improve translation services.
At the same time, Cook refuted claims that infectious diseases in Springfield are increasing due to the influx of immigrants.
He said: ‘A common myth I’ve heard is that we’ve seen all our communicable diseases spike and spike. And really, when you look at the data, that’s not supported.”
Springfield was inadvertently thrust into the national spotlight after vice presidential candidate JD Vance called attention to a Facebook post that made an unfounded claim that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating local pets.
To overcome the language barrier that may be complicating medical care, community health centers have added Haitian Creole interpreters to their staff.
Mr Cook added: “I can tell you one thing in particular: the language barrier we have experienced increases the time needed for health encounters.”
This has been causing tension on the ground, and anecdotal reports have emerged of natural-born citizens in Springfield – home to about 58,000 people – delaying medical care due to the inability to get a doctor’s appointment.
Last year, Springfield performer Wislande Henley told Springfield News-Sun Since becoming a professional interpreter in January, she has seen an explosion of individuals and nonprofit organizations requesting her expertise to address the growing Haitian population, particularly in the field of health care.
She said: ‘Sometimes it can take the patient a couple of minutes longer to understand what the doctor is saying, but sometimes they (doctors) like to go fast. You want to move on to the next patient.
Recently, Springfield was inadvertently thrust into the national spotlight after vice presidential candidate JD Vance called attention to a Facebook post making unsubstantiated claims that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating local pets.
It set off an anti-immigrant fervor that led to the closure of municipal and school buildings, bomb threats and abuses against Haitian residents.