More Access Points to Bridge the Cultural Gap

With HCAHPS soon impacting Medicare reimbursements, there are more reasons than ever to ensure that every member of the care team, including support services workers—housekeepers, transporters, and food service workers—are part of the effort to recognize and respond empathetically to cultural and linguistic difference in patients and their families.

A Moving…and Profitable…Target

Cultural competency is a moving target. Even savvy hospitals that have gone so far as to perform a Cultural and Linguistic Competence assessment in the last decade are discovering that their competence must continually evolve with population trends. Yet, experts agree it can be a profitable exercise. Compass Group Diversity Generalist Tameka Green makes the point that, for healthcare, in addition to ethical issues, cultural and linguistic competence is coming down to dollars and cents.

“Look at the numbers,” says Green. “The fastest-growing segments of the population are people of color who will, in turn, have tremendous buying power. In order to remain relevant and sustain growth, hospitals will have to close the cultural and linguistic gap.” 2010 U.S. Census results (shown below) make it clear: there have been 43% increases in both people of Asian origin and people of Hispanic/Latino origin.

Fundamentally, we need cultural competence to truly connect with every kind of patient. We need to understand their pain, their fears, their need for comfort, and their vision of the future to provide better care and a better patient experience. For that, we need to supply patients with a familiar access point, someone who speaks their language or understands their culture. Hospitals will see the results in fewer readmissions, higher HCAHPS scores, better outcomes, and eventually, higher market share.

Crothall’s Front Line: Open Access

The frequency of support services workers in your patients’ rooms is second only to nursing. We impress on our people that, in addition to the necessary work they do, they are also ambassadors for the hospital. They can help to remove barriers and provide access for a real exchange of information.

Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA, flew in a Burundian burn patient and her mother for treatment. Suddenly finding themselves in a different world and facing complicated medical treatment, they were comforted when the hospital asked two Burundi-American housekeepers to form an access point for them. Soon an entire community had embraced the women. To read this remarkable story, see the “Make a Difference” section in this issue.