What is MHCAP?
The Montagnard Health Care Assistance Project (MHCAP) is an
all volunteer project of Save the Montagnard People. MHCAP is dedicated to establishing self sustaining
programs relating education and health care access for
the US Montagnard population.
While newly arriving Montagnards are authorized access
to a government run health insurance program, they
typically lose eligibility rapidly as most enter the
work force very soon after arriving in the United
States. This combined with a lack of disease prevention
education, easy access to a primary care provider, lack
of employer based health insurance and illness/injury
aggravation due to the stresses associated with
immigration from Vietnam can culminate in a health
crisis for these remarkable people.
Like many lower income people, most Montagnards
typically only seek health care in emergency situations
due to the costs involved, and even then in many
cases the crisis has evolved into a very emergent
situation due to the delays
involved resulting in longer treatment and recovery
times.
Ironically, many Montagnards have arrived
in the US with medical degrees (MDs and RNs) from
Vietnam but find it very difficult to follow through
with obtaining reciprocity due to the difficulties in
living with English as a second language and the testing
/ vernacular required to complete the medical
reciprocity testing.
MHCAP has
identified various areas relating to what can be
considered an emerging health crisis for the Montagnard
population here and has developed a multi-phase plan of
action and while it may take a while to implement all of
these, we hope they will improve the health care
conditions for the US Montagnard population.
PURPOSE: To increase health care education and access in the US Montagnard Population through self sustaining projects. MHCAP hopes to work with all Montagnard organizations and serve the Montagnard community in a non-partisan manner, regardless of organizational affiliation.
IMPLEMENTATION: The goals of MHCAP are broken down into multiple phase projects. In total there are seven primary phases:
- Translation of educational medical brochures.
- Establishment of an educational program dealing with
- health issues (either live or DVD/VHS format).
- Coordination with local health care providers to assist in working with Montagnard health issues and treatment.
- Advanced ESL classes
for Montagnard medical professionals that are
seeking licensing here in the
- Establish a scholarship program for Montagnard students who are interested in seeking a career in Health/ Allied Health services.
- Establishment of a Montagnard community health care center that caters to their health needs.
