Dr. Juan José Vergara Saavedra believes that mass media can be a powerful tool for promoting health. He also knows that health education must be easy to understand and remember, if you want people to act on it. Taking these truths to heart has spurred Dr. Vergara to become a regular contributor to Spanish-language television stations. He gives on-camera interviews at least once a month, to explain health topics to viewers and answer common questions.
“The Latino population is less likely to have health insurance than other groups, so members of this community may not have easy access to see a doctor,” explains Dr. Vergara. “This is a way that I can help those individuals, through education and information.”
Fluent in Spanish, and with a unique ability to translate complex medical terms into relatable concepts, Dr. Vergara began granting interviews – about one per year – in 2017. The frequency of requests skyrocketed in 2020 and 2021 and remains consistent today. He nearly always says yes when producers from Univision in the Bay Area or Sacramento, and even as far as Dallas, call.
Dr. Vergara says few doctors speak Spanish, which puts him in high demand. “The population of California is about 40% Latino but fewer than 6.4 % of doctors in the state identify as such.” This statistic is something he hopes will change with initiatives like National Latino Physician Day. Celebrated on October 1st each year, National Latino Physician Day seeks to highlight the Latino physician shortage crisis and inspire the next generation of Latino physicians.
A practicing Internal Medicine physician for 13 years, and among the core faculty for Sutter Health’s new Internal Medicine Residency Program located at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Dr. Vergara has ample experience to speak on nearly any health topic. Past subjects have included Valley Fever, Mpox, heat stroke, COVID, CPR and contaminated water.
When asked what advice he thinks is most valuable, Dr. Vergara emphasizes the importance of screening.
Dr. Juan Vergara has been a practicing Internal Medicine physician for 13 years and is among the core faculty for Sutter’s new Internal Medicine Residency Program located at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto.
“Reminders for health screening, whether that’s for cancer, cholesterol, blood pressure, to name a few, are vital,” he says. “Hopefully I reach people, and they follow through and take steps to get checked out.” Disease prevention through healthy lifestyle is another topic he is passionate about.
Dr. Vergara says that interviews also keep him up to date. “I do pre-interview research, then the interview usually lasts 10 minutes and the segment that airs is about a minute long.” Most of his appearances are filmed through a computer connection, and they’re pre-recorded rather than live, but he has been to the TV studio occasionally.
Recently, he has started to share his expertise more broadly. In March he was invited to speak on an hour-long panel that focused on heart disease, hosted by the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento. Just last month he gave a talk on Hypertension (high blood pressure) to community health workers, known as Promotoras, who work exclusively in Latino and Hispanic communities.
Dr. Vergara says it’s rewarding to know he’s helping make sure that health education isn’t lost in translation.
