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A local doctor is making an impact on the health of the world's Latino community through his radio talk show.
Dr. Elmer Huerta of the Washington Hospital center uses a unique method to convince millions to see a doctor before they get sick. Seventy-five percent of the Latinos randomly surveyed in the Metropolitan Washington area listen to his daily radio show. The broadcast is so popular that it is now heard in 21 countries worldwide.
Dr. Huerta broadcasts his radio show from his office at the Washington Hospital, "A lot of people, they call me and say Dr.Huerta I have a pain here in my side, what do you think it is? I tell them, you think I'm a magician?"
Latinos are traditionally reluctant to seek medical care, especially those in the country illegally. Dr. Huerta is not concerned if his radio patients are here legally, "That's not my business. I am here to take care of you."
The show even takes the most intimate questions like sex and infectious diseases. "Radio is a magic media, it's the communication between a voice, a remote and anonymous voice and the conscience of people," Huerta says.
Listener Cristina Lozano is so loyal, she sits in her car every day at lunchtime. "He talks in a normal way. No sophisticated terms," she says, "He speaks to you about life also."
Dr. Lawrence Lessin has traveled with Huerta abroad, "He gets on the telephone at midnight in Sri Lanka, for example, and does his radio broadcast, he knows his listeners are there waiting to hear."
The show is called "Una Cita con el Doctor" or also known as "An Appointment with the Doctor" and is heard locally from one to three p.m. on 1540 AM.
Dr. Huerta is not just a success on the radio, last Fall he was named the President of the American Cancer Society. Huerta is the first Latino physician to ever hold that position.
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