Dr. Bianka Soria-Olmos ’07, a pediatrician at Cook Children’s Pediatrics in Haslet, has been on a mission to stop the disproportionate spread of COVID-19 in Hispanic and Latino communities, and her efforts were recently the subject of a feature in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine.
“I think it was right after the Fourth of July [2020] when I really saw the Texas numbers, and I saw my community numbers really skyrocket,” Soria-Olmos told the publication. “When I found out about that particular ZIP code and how disproportionate the numbers were, that’s when I became alarmed and all I could [do] was [ask], ‘What can I do to help?’ With the misinformation circulating in all languages and the minimal amount of accurate up-to-date information in Spanish, I knew this is how I would help.”
The Horned Frog is seeing the discrepancies in the same community where she grew up. So, Soria-Olmos is using live streams and Zoom calls to distribute information to people who need it due to language barriers, transportation challenges and lack of medical insurance.
“As soon as my desire to help began, I sprang into action and eventually found myself as the primary speaker at several different monthly COVID-19 chats,” she said in the article. “I was there to answer questions and keep everyone aware of what was going on. What is quarantine? What is isolation? Why should I wear a mask? What we talked about evolved as new information came out.”
Read the full story in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine.