In 2013, I was a middle school teacher in Baltimore. My 7th grade scholars and I read A Long Walk to Water, which includes the journey of Nya, a girl the same age as my Baltimore City Scholars, and the distance she traveled to bring water to her village. Last month, I was reminded of that book while trying to schedule a dentist appointment. I scheduled one in February when my insurance first kicked in. Their first opening was in May, and when I arrived for my May appointment, they told me they didn’t accept my insurance despite telling me they did 90 days earlier when I made the appointment.

Needless to say I was upset, discouraged and no longer interested in wasting my time scheduling dentist appointments when I should be looking for jobs.
That was until last month. Last month I called my insurance company, told them what happened and they informed me that their dental coverage is outsourced and required that I call a separate number. I did, and a strange thing happened. I noticed during the call that the agent kept mentioning zip codes and asking how that worked for me. I said “I drive so I don’t mind” And then it hit me, there are people out here without access to quality health care because it’s not in their zip code. Not everyone with Medicaid drives, and maybe, some of these healthcare providers she was telling me about would be more of a nuisance than a resource.

At the time unemployed and only having a full tank of gas thanks to my boyfriend, I decided to look up how far away these places were. The closest one was an 8 minute drive yet a 40 minute walk from my home. 30 minutes if I had enough change to utilize public transportation. The next was a 16 minute drive and more than 90 minute walk. The one I ended up choosing was slightly closer. We see talks about food deserts all the time, but what about healthcare deserts?

The closest dentist office to my home had several negative reviews. Ranging from long wait times to poor quality of care. If I didn’t have a car, I would be forced to accept treatment at a facility where several patients were disappointed enough to not only leave, but to warn others not to entrust their oral hygiene with that provider. Before anyone mentions the plethora of rideshare options, let me remind you that Uber & LYFT are luxuries for people with bank accounts and smart phones. I live in Baltimore where people stand in the street pointing downward hoping strangers will accept a few dollars to take them in the direction of their destination (Hailing a Hack). And what happens when you don’t have a few dollars to spare? Guess you take a long walk to healthcare.