New Covered California comic book features a familiar Fresno physician as its protagonist
Covered California launched a comic book featuring a trusted Fresno County physician to promote the importance of health insurance to farmworkers.
The comic book is distributed in English and Spanish and aims to resonate with the Hispanic community, especially farmworkers, by featuring Dr. Trinidad Solis, a daughter of Mexican immigrant farm workers who grew up in the Central Valley.
“Covered California wanted to do a comic book, and the motivation was focusing on our rural mobile health program and wanting to reach out to the farm working community in a creative way,” said Solis, a deputy health officer with the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
“I feel honored to be featured in the comic book,” said Solis, whose father worked in the fields of the Central Valley for more than three decades.
Solis said Covered California reached out to her and asked if they can feature her in the comic book because of her involvement with the county’s rural mobile health program. Solis helped develop it and now coordinates the medical aspects of the program.
Solis said the comic resonates with her since she is “very passionate about serving our rural communities because really that is where we see a lot of the health disparities.”
The comic book includes relatable images and stories that have culturally relevant elements, like a quinceañera, and promotes the county’s mobile health unit’s services.
“We wanted to send a message about the importance of having health insurance,” Solis said, adding that having health insurance can prevent severe diseases.
Covered California unveiled the comic book earlier this month at one of the county’s mobile health events in Mendota, a rural town west of Fresno home to a large agricultural community.
Carol Sandoval, senior manager for outreach and sales at Covered California, said the stop in Mendota is one of the many stops across the state engaging with diverse communities.
The comic book initiative aims to reach other rural communities across California, addressing health disparities and promoting health insurance awareness and the benefit of health insurance and staying healthy.
Solis said the comic tells the story of a mobile health unit serving an agricultural community.
The county’s mobile health clinics offer free health screenings including blood pressure and glucose testing, flu shots, and COVID-19 vaccinations,, health resources and information, as well as free food distribution to support local families. Covered California also had navigators for on-site enrollment and health insurance support. For more information about Covered California, visit www.CoveredCA.com/espanol
This story was originally published December 18, 2024 at 8:21 AM.
