BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Maryland’s Hispanic population rose 5 percent from 2006 to 2007, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday, prompting state and city agencies to rethink outreach programs to help a growing immigrant population.

The Maryland Insurance Administration started a campaign to get accurate consumer insurance information to Spanish-speaking populations, and Baltimore’s Health Department is focusing on getting more Latinos in for health care.

“I think that there’s a major unmet need for health care in the Latino population in Baltimore,” Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein said. “That includes both access to health care and very low rates of insurance.”

Ralph S. Tyler, Maryland’s insurance commissioner, translated consumer brochures into Spanish focusing on auto, health, homeowners, and life insurance and how to prepare for natural disasters. 

From 2002 to 2007, the number of Hispanic residents in Maryland grew 35 percent, the Census Bureau reported. Overall, population in Maryland increased just 3 percent in that span.

The state is now in the top seven in terms of percentage of minority residents, at 42 percent, according to the data. That adds up to an estimated 356,277 Hispanics living in the state, compared to 5.2 million who did not identify themselves as Spanish, Hispanic or Latino. In Baltimore, the health department renamed its Caroline Street clinic in East Baltimore La Carolina and is focusing Spanish-language services there, Sharfstein said.

“We’re actually putting together an immigrant health plan looking at all the kinds of things we can do for them,” he said.

Even though the census numbers are provided on a state level only, demographers attribute increases in Hispanic residents largely to a few counties, including Montgomery in Maryland, which have become hotbeds for immigrants. Report co-author Marie Price told The Examiner jobs are the primary draw. Unlike some regions of the country, the immigrant population in Maryland and Virginia remains incredibly diverse.

khille@baltimoreexaminer.com

dlevitz@baltimoreexaminer.com