Cultural Competency in Healthcare: Increased Sensitivity Translates Into Fewer Disparities, Improved Outcomes
Almost 15 percent of Americans speaks a language other than English at home or has a limited English proficiency. When these individuals require attention from the healthcare community, cultural differences can impact the quality of the encounter. Federal standards already require healthcare providers to offer language assistance, interpreters and easily understandable printed materials to patients with special linguistic needs. But by supplementing these services with cultural competency programs for personnel, healthcare organizations can ameliorate the caliber of care they provide.
Manasquan, NJ (PRWEB) September 21, 2006
Almost 15 percent of Americans speak a language other than English at home or have a limited English proficiency. When these individuals require attention from the healthcare community, cultural differences can impact the quality of the encounter. Federal standards already require healthcare providers to offer language assistance, interpreters and easily understood printed materials to patients with special linguistic needs. But by supplementing these services with cultural competency programs for personnel, healthcare organizations can ameliorate the caliber of care they provide.
To help organizations build, refine and evaluate their cultural competency initiatives, the Healthcare Intelligence Network (HIN) is sponsoring “Cultural Competency in Healthcare: Ensuring Culturally Appropriate Treatment and Services to Reduce Disparities and Improve Outcomes,” a live interactive audio conference on October 11, 2006. For more information, please visit http://www. hin. com/cgi-local/link/news/pl. cgi? culturalcompetencypr (http://www. hin. com/cgi-local/link/news/pl. cgi? culturalcompetencypr).
“Regardless of the language they speak or their culture of origin, patients and healthcare consumers have the right to receive effective and respectful care that is sensitive to their cultural health beliefs, practices and preferred language,” notes Melanie Matthews, HIN executive vice president and chief operating officer. “By observing the federal mandates and recommendations for culturally competent care, healthcare providers demonstrate a receptiveness to patients’ needs, which will translate into improved outcomes.”
During this 90-minute audio conference, Elsa Batica, cross cultural health development and training manager with Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and Patti Ludwig-Beymer, administrative director for nursing research and education at Edward Hospital & Health Services, will describe the cultural competency programs at their organizations and how these efforts improve the overall quality of care they provide. Participants will learn how to:
Tie cultural competency efforts into an overall quality improvement plan; Meet the requirements of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards for culturally appropriate care; Train staff on healthcare cultural competence; Evaluate the effectiveness of healthcare cultural competency techniques; Implement, develop and refine a healthcare cultural competency program; Build management support for cultural diversity programs; and Work with the community to address cultural issues.
The 90-minute live audio conference, scheduled for 1:30 p. m. Eastern time on October 11, 2006, includes a 30-minute question-and-answer period for participants. A recorded version on CD-ROM with a printed transcript will be available in late October, and an “On-Demand” audio conference re-broadcast can be accessed beginning October 13, 2006. To register and obtain additional details on the audio conference, please visit http://www. hin. com/cgi-local/link/news/pl. cgi? culturalcompetencypr (http://www. hin. com/cgi-local/link/news/pl. cgi? culturalcompetencypr).
This audio conference has been designed to address the interests of CEOs, medical directors, executives responsible for culturally competent healthcare, quality improvement executives, compliance officers, disease management directors, managers and coordinators, care management nurses and business development and strategic planning directors.
About the Healthcare Intelligence Network
HIN is the premier advisory service for executives seeking high-quality strategic information on the business of healthcare. For more information, contact the Healthcare Intelligence Network, PO Box 1442, Wall Township, NJ 07719-1442, (888) 446-3530, fax (732) 292-3073, or visit http://www. hin. com (http://www. hin. com).
Contact: Patricia Donovan
Phone: (732) 528-4468
Fax: (732) 292-3073
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