It might be a surprising statistic to some, but New Jersey retains the third-highest population of Puerto Ricans in the United States.
It’s not a fact lost on members of InnovaCare Health, Inc., a leading provider of Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans and related services. In fact, as early as two weeks after Hurricane Maria made landfall and her devastation was apparent, the company enacted its response.
Forward-deployed teams began with a 10-municipality tour to provide free medical care to displaced citizens. Humanitarian aid and medical services were provided, impacting more than 4,000 residents in the first months, and providing medical services to more than 1,600 patients – whether they had medical coverage or not.
One famous example of the company’s efforts was the Recargate (Recharge) station in San Juan. Originally established as a centrally located area for storm-affected residents to charge electronic devices, the dilapidated storefront blossomed nearly overnight into a makeshift clinic.
“My dad was walking past there and saw the sign. We were able to get my mom’s insulin refilled, which was very big because she was down to about three doses,” said Javim Cruz, an active duty military member in the US who in the first hours of the storm hadn’t yet heard from his family.
The initiative was developed by one of Puerto Rico’s larger Medicare Advantage health plans, called Medicare y Mucho Mas, a subsidiary of InnovaCare. Termed MMM for short, the center that began as a charging station became one for counsel and care as well. About 40,000 people have visited Recargate since November.
The center has been but one example of InnovaCare Health’s continued interest in the island’s wellbeing. After all, New Jersey has one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the US. According to Dr. Richard Shinto, head of the company, there’s no easy answer to a healthcare crisis that was multi-pronged even before Maria. That the worst storm in the island’s history hit a population already reeling from poverty and a lack of housing and transportation compounded things ten-fold.
“If they go home and they can’t get that diet or have no place to stay or have no way to get the medication that was prescribed, everything you’ve done in the clinic has been lost,” he said.
Since the initial rush to respond to Maria’s devastation, InnovaCare Health in months since have set up around 30 more mobile clinics across the stricken island. All have either primary care physicians or physician specialists, and most feature on-site pharmacists who can fill prescriptions that have become massively critical in the storm’s wake.
Back in NJ, InnovaCare Health’s company leadership has rallied around a state populace with many familial ties to its island home. Estimates as high as in the US. In October, InnovaCare Health’s “Starry Night Masquerade” drew over 950 attendees to a building in New York City.
“It was a special opportunity to show the people of Puerto Rico what they mean to us,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Shinto. “Now they need us more than ever, and I’m inspired and humbled by the way the InnovaCare family has responded.”
The event featured quite a few stars, from NFL standouts Victor Cruz, Jason Pierre-Paul and alumni to recording artists Pitbull and JoJo.
For Chief Administrative Officer Penelope Kokkinides, it’s a family matter.
“The people of Puerto Rico – including thousands of our employees and hundreds of thousands of our members – are experiencing devastation and destruction like they have never seen,” she said. “Although we know an enormous amount of work lies ahead, it has been uplifting to see what a difference our organization is already making. The response from the entire organization speaks to the supportive, accountable culture that defines (us).”
General rebuilding efforts on the island have been bolstered by the company’s Caminamos Juntos (We Walk Together) initiative, in response to millions of residents still lacking power and sufficient medical resources.
“As one of the leading healthcare organizations on the island, we feel a great responsibility to continue providing necessary healthcare services here,” said Waldemar C. Rios Alvarez, Chief Medical Officer of Puerto Rico, an InnovaCare subsidiary which provides administrative support to medical groups there. “While we are doing what we can to address the immediate needs of Puerto Rico’s medical community today, our vision for rebuilding the island and continuing to be a trusted partner for the people of Puerto Rico extends far into the future.”
For Jaime Soto, an army veteran who only recently returned to Puerto Rico with his wife and two young children, it’s a time that’s spanned many emotions – from hope to despair to reflection.
“Obviously it’s a horrible thing that’s happened,” he said. “I had a garage, a certification to work on cars; that’s stuff I learned in the military. That’s all gone now.”
The flooding in Soto’s neighborhood on the outskirts of San Juan essentially gouged his budding business. He’s somehow remained stoic about his family’s present and hopeful about the future.
“It’s a terrible thing, obviously,” he said. “And it’s frustrating. You build up so much and do the right things, only to arrive at this point and have everything taken away. But as I tell my wife, there’s people out there, families, who are way worse off than us.”
He finds solace in the fact that there are organizations like InnovaCare who have taken a vested interest in the rebuilding of his neighborhood. Soto’s entire family receives checkups from one of the company’s mobile clinics, and Soto’s himself has received certified counseling for PTSD from combat trauma he experienced while active duty.
“There are a lot of things in life you go through where you think, ‘absolutely, this could be better,’ he said, “but I think more so than this being only a tragedy, we’re glad here in Puerto Rico that there’s people out there who actually care – whether they’re across the ocean or not.”
