New Lawrence Clinic Brings Health Care to Spanish-Speaking Community Members – Lawrence Times

Natalia Leistner took action when she saw the need for local treatment options that catered to Spanish-speaking community members.

She and her team opened CASA Medical in Lawrence in February to provide affordable health care to Spanish-speaking people and families. Patients can access a variety of services — from screenings and fitness to women’s care and help with chronic disease management — with no medical insurance required. In fact, the clinic does not accept insurance.

According to Leistner, founder and CEO, the Hispanic population appears to be growing in Lawrence and the surrounding area, but the cultural representation in health care is not growing at the same rate.

“There really weren’t a lot of resources, especially in health care, for the community — resources that could provide high-quality care, especially in their own language,” Leistner said. “We feel that’s very important when you want to go to health care to be able to freely communicate about your health status and what your concerns are about the available treatment plans and so on.”

Originally from Uruguay, Leistner moved to the United States as a young man in 1998 and attended the University of Kansas. She later graduated with a master’s degree and obtained her APRN license. Her 20 years of experience in the healthcare sector, particularly in emergency departments, family practice and clinical research with a focus on Covid-19 vaccines, led her to open her own practice this year.

CASA Medical provides health care for children ages 2 and up. Leistner said the clinic is open to all members of the Lawrence community as well as patients in De Soto, Topoka and Bonner Springs.

CASA’s medical staff is focused on preventative care, and Leistner says it’s important to catch concerns before it’s too late.

“We feel that if we can keep our patients healthy and work through prevention and screening measures, we are helping the healthcare community avoid unnecessary ER visits,” Leistner said.

“Tragedies can be prevented by screening. That’s something that not only the Hispanic population but the uninsured population struggles with because a lot of times they’re only getting care when they’re really, really sick and something’s not right,” she said. “

Now, after living in Lawrence for 25 years, Leistner said she and her family really consider the college town home. CASA Medical is right in.

“We feel very fortunate and we feel very welcome to the community here, and not only the patient community that has welcomed us, but the medical community here in Lawrence has been very welcoming,” Leistner said. “So we’re able to see our patients in a timely manner, we’re able to access the specialists that work with us, and we feel very fortunate to be accepted by the community.

CASA Medical is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1410 Kasold Drive in Lawrence from 9 am to 5 pm. Learn more about the clinic on it Website, casamedical.orgTranslated in both Spanish and English and with questions contact 785-423-6611.

Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison (at) lawrencextimes (dot) com. Read more about her work at The Times over here. See the biographies of its employees over here.

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