3/22/10 - Cultural Diversity - Dr. Stephen Gabbe

Hi! I learned just the other day that our Medical Center is visited by patients speaking more than 75 languages. Think of the diverse population we serve. Its statistics like these that tell me now more than ever, we need to be culturally aware and culturally competent. As care providers and those who support patient care, everyone must understand how to effectively and attentively respond to people of different cultures. Not only is it the law, but its the right thing to do. Its our responsibility and our commitment to improving peoples lives.

Did you know we have a dedicated team here at OSU to support these efforts?

The Interpreter Services department helps us communicate with patients who have limited proficiency in English and they do this through translated materials, on-site interpretation, phone interpretation and video interpretation through a system called Martti. Id like you to meet Martti, which stands for: My Accessible Real Time Trusted Interpreter. We have 25 of these at our Medical Center. They can be rolled into the patients room to connect them with an interpreter in seconds.

I just used one and I was so impressed. You just call an operator and they respond immediately. I asked them to link me to an interpreter in Zarma, which is one of the six tribal languages spoken in Niger, West Africa. Our son, Adam learned to speak Zarma when he was in the Peace Corp and you know what, they could do it! I was really impressed!

The use of an interpreter ensures we provide our patients accurate information, which reduces misdiagnoses, medical errors, and patient concerns and complaints. Having the patients family or friends interpret doesnt provide us with the objective information we need for our care, and is not a practice we use here at our medical center. Furthermore, we have interpreter services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support these communication needs.

Interpreter Services collaborates with many people to provide this free service to our patients including patient representatives, hospital administrative managers, clinical nurse specialists, patient educators, IT staff and registration staff, not to mention the many areas who request an interpreter to help in patient care. In the last three years, interpreter appointments have increased 93 percent. That tells me that each of you understands the importance this service provides at the patient bedside. And, I thank you for that.

Finally, Id like to recognize the Interpreter Services department for being invited to an international conference this summer in the United Kingdom. Our Medical Center was one of a few health systems in the United States to be asked to participate.

Congratulations! Keep up the great work you do in serving and meeting the cultural differences and needs of our patients.

As always, thank you for tuning in, and feel free to send me your comments on this weeks topic or anything else thats on your mind.

Well, have a great week!

Category:

Science & Technology

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• OSU Medical Center
• OSU
• James
• Research
• Patient Care
• Interpreter Services health