Below is a link to a very nice article that speaks to the fact that cultural competency in healthcare is an issue that every state needs to be engaged. Looks like New Mexico is really engaged in the conversation. Other states like New Jersey and California have implemented similar legislation as it relates to culturally and linguistically appropriate care.
What state is next to push this to their healthcare workforce?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/08/08/cultural.medicine.ap/
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
You maybe want the Hot and Sour Soup
A few weeks ago, I was having dinner at one of our favorite vegetarian restaurants outside of D.C. My friend and I asked about the soup choices, in particular the Won Ton Soup. The waitress whom I have seen quite a bit, described the Won Ton Soup. She said, "Won Ton soup, the Won Tons are made of flour." She then paused. Not fully understanding what she was tying to convey I then asked, if it was good. She did not respond directly to the question, but she did make a suggestion, "You maybe want the Hot and Sour Soup." We looked at one another chuckled and the Hot and Sour Soup it was!
The conversation points to the dynamics that we see in cross-cultural interchanges everyday within healthcare institutions. Perhaps an American wait staff would have said, "I don't really like the Won Ton soup." However, she chose to not be critical of the food, the restaurant, the chef and instead suggested that we choose one that she felt we would like through experience. A very highly contextual response.
Consider the many times we encounter communication styles that are not in alignment with our world view. Are we even aware enough to know that our selective listening begins? Imagine how this could happen with a staff person, a physician, or a patient. We often emphasize language because of CLAS standards or simply because we have so many reminders of language barriers as the diversity of our organizations grow.
While we are aware of the fact that culture matters beyond language, and clarity in communication comes from context, and that we all have both. However, we don't necessarily examine our biases and how our context consistently occurs to others.
How do we begin this process?
The conversation points to the dynamics that we see in cross-cultural interchanges everyday within healthcare institutions. Perhaps an American wait staff would have said, "I don't really like the Won Ton soup." However, she chose to not be critical of the food, the restaurant, the chef and instead suggested that we choose one that she felt we would like through experience. A very highly contextual response.
Consider the many times we encounter communication styles that are not in alignment with our world view. Are we even aware enough to know that our selective listening begins? Imagine how this could happen with a staff person, a physician, or a patient. We often emphasize language because of CLAS standards or simply because we have so many reminders of language barriers as the diversity of our organizations grow.
While we are aware of the fact that culture matters beyond language, and clarity in communication comes from context, and that we all have both. However, we don't necessarily examine our biases and how our context consistently occurs to others.
How do we begin this process?
- My experience is first to begin to learn about cross-cultural communication. Generate an awareness of the nuances of how we relate to one another in communication and what types of questions ask.
- Knowledge of all archetypal generalizations of cultures outside is not necessary (or possible) but it without doubt can help with our understanding of how we might be occurring to others based on their cultural lens.
- Lastly, get engaged in the process of learning about effective communication. Any education in this topic should inherently include a module related to culture.
Our new healthcare diversity and cultural competency wiki Health Culture Depot is coming soon. If you have topics you would like to write about regularly, let us know. We are building our list authors as I write.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A Healthcare Diversity Consortium
There are a lot of people doing great work in the diversity and cultural competency space where healthcare is concerned. One organization (the whole team!) that is doing outstanding work is Trinity Health under the leadership of VeLois Bowers, Sr. VP. of Diversity.
They are hosting an event that is going to be awesome! It is not too late to RSVP although the note below says different. Reach out to Toni Green and be there. If you are in healthcare and have a diversity responsibility in any capacity, you have to be there!
________________________________________________
Greetings,
Today, diversity executives and practitioners in health care are faced with many factors impacting our diversity efforts. Recently, there has been an expressed interest in health care diversity professionals coming together to address initiatives in an industry where the diversity journey is just beginning. In this light, Trinity Health is pleased to host a health care diversity consortium to benchmark and share best practices from the industry across the nation. We will focus not only on recruitment, retention, and talent management but how diversity and inclusion initiatives impact responsive and respectful patient centered care.
Trinity Health's Office of Diversity and Inclusion would like to invite you to join us September 30 and October 1, 2008 at the Dearborn Inn located across from Henry Ford's historic Greenfield Village located near the Detroit metropolitan airport. The hotel logistics and an agenda will arrive under separate cover. We are planning a robust agenda that will include guest speakers and topics to stimulate dialogue and share best practices.
Please RSVP with your, or your designee's availability by Monday, July 28, 2008.
If you know of other healthcare diversity colleagues who may be interested in attending, please forward this invitation. Please contact me if you would like additional information.
I look forward to our meeting.
Best Regards,
Antoinette Green PHR
Director, Diversity & Inclusion
Trinity Health
34605 W. 12 Mile Rd, Ste 127
Farmington Hills, MI 48331
248-489-6371
They are hosting an event that is going to be awesome! It is not too late to RSVP although the note below says different. Reach out to Toni Green and be there. If you are in healthcare and have a diversity responsibility in any capacity, you have to be there!
________________________________________________
Greetings,
Today, diversity executives and practitioners in health care are faced with many factors impacting our diversity efforts. Recently, there has been an expressed interest in health care diversity professionals coming together to address initiatives in an industry where the diversity journey is just beginning. In this light, Trinity Health is pleased to host a health care diversity consortium to benchmark and share best practices from the industry across the nation. We will focus not only on recruitment, retention, and talent management but how diversity and inclusion initiatives impact responsive and respectful patient centered care.
Trinity Health's Office of Diversity and Inclusion would like to invite you to join us September 30 and October 1, 2008 at the Dearborn Inn located across from Henry Ford's historic Greenfield Village located near the Detroit metropolitan airport. The hotel logistics and an agenda will arrive under separate cover. We are planning a robust agenda that will include guest speakers and topics to stimulate dialogue and share best practices.
Please RSVP with your, or your designee's availability by Monday, July 28, 2008.
If you know of other healthcare diversity colleagues who may be interested in attending, please forward this invitation. Please contact me if you would like additional information.
I look forward to our meeting.
Best Regards,
Antoinette Green PHR
Director, Diversity & Inclusion
Trinity Health
34605 W. 12 Mile Rd, Ste 127
Farmington Hills, MI 48331
248-489-6371
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Where do we need to go?
The AHA published an article on health disparities and its statement that was recently submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee. You can check it out an excerpt from their solicited statement at the link below.
http://www.hospitalconnect.com/ahanews/jsp/display.jsp?dcrpath=AHANEWS/AHANewsArticle/data/AHA_News_080707_AHA_racial_ethnic&domain=AHANEWS
Of course, the statement was well written and supported by thorough data and as practitioners, we can all stand up from the choir and deliver a resounding "AMEN". What I am left with in the process of a long standing need for health care transformation is a "where do we need to go?" question. This question is not new for anyone either. What has not surfaced however, are long-term strategies that can be adopted not just for public health practitioners, clinicians, and hospitals, but by every institution that is affected by disparate treatment and disparate outcome. Translation--everyone!
I am going to speak to this in more depth later; however, the premise is that our strategic hats need to be collectively worn more often than our execution hats. We have a great deal of data and we still need to collect it. In addition, we as practitioners dedicated to health equity need to be strategic on what each data point collected represents and how it can fit into a bigger framework that leaves us with a body of information that can longitudinally clarify what is working with whom and how and how can we duplicate, systematize, and hone it for long-term success. What is our success strategy as a body of health care folks who want to see our bottom-line for health care in this country improve while our top line of people rises it with it? Can it be done? You bet it can!
We will discuss more in the near future about this possibility.
http://www.hospitalconnect.com/ahanews/jsp/display.jsp?dcrpath=AHANEWS/AHANewsArticle/data/AHA_News_080707_AHA_racial_ethnic&domain=AHANEWS
Of course, the statement was well written and supported by thorough data and as practitioners, we can all stand up from the choir and deliver a resounding "AMEN". What I am left with in the process of a long standing need for health care transformation is a "where do we need to go?" question. This question is not new for anyone either. What has not surfaced however, are long-term strategies that can be adopted not just for public health practitioners, clinicians, and hospitals, but by every institution that is affected by disparate treatment and disparate outcome. Translation--everyone!
I am going to speak to this in more depth later; however, the premise is that our strategic hats need to be collectively worn more often than our execution hats. We have a great deal of data and we still need to collect it. In addition, we as practitioners dedicated to health equity need to be strategic on what each data point collected represents and how it can fit into a bigger framework that leaves us with a body of information that can longitudinally clarify what is working with whom and how and how can we duplicate, systematize, and hone it for long-term success. What is our success strategy as a body of health care folks who want to see our bottom-line for health care in this country improve while our top line of people rises it with it? Can it be done? You bet it can!
We will discuss more in the near future about this possibility.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Joint Commission Releases Revised Restraints Standards for Behavioral Healthcare--The Role of Culture
The Joint Commission released new standards in behavioral care in May that will go into effect January 1, 2009. Now, I don't need to go into the details of the new standards, but I did want to highlight one particular piece that was intriguing from a culturally competent care perspective.
The standard includes (paraphrased):
staff must demonstrate an understanding of the factors that influence behavior and may result in the need for restraints and seclusion.
What was intriguing is that many behavioral factors as we know are related to culture. For example, in my work with hospitals a client once told me that there was situation where a young 36 year old man was told that he had cancer and it was aggressive and then basically left there without the care of someone who would communicate with him. He was black and in a predominantly white staffed hospital facility. Upon being told he began to talk very loud and forcefully and demand some answers. His escalating tone and demands prompted the care staff to call security who immediately called the police. He was put into restraints which made him become more irate.
Later a black nurse came to him (after being requested) and he explained that he was scared, felt all alone, and no one was answering any of his questions. The less they responded, the angrier he became. He was released from the restraints almost immediately after the black nurse arrived and began to get his questioned answered.
Culture and behavior go hand in hand. If your cultural competency and cross-cultural communication skills are on par to where you want them to be this new standard the Joint Commission is putting into effect will be taken care of in the course of how your organization operates each and every day. Patient-centeredness and this new standard are very much in alignment; as such there is no patient-centeredness without cultural competence.
If you want to learn more about tools for Cross-Cultural Communication, email me at amrijohnson@gmail.com.
The standard includes (paraphrased):
staff must demonstrate an understanding of the factors that influence behavior and may result in the need for restraints and seclusion.
What was intriguing is that many behavioral factors as we know are related to culture. For example, in my work with hospitals a client once told me that there was situation where a young 36 year old man was told that he had cancer and it was aggressive and then basically left there without the care of someone who would communicate with him. He was black and in a predominantly white staffed hospital facility. Upon being told he began to talk very loud and forcefully and demand some answers. His escalating tone and demands prompted the care staff to call security who immediately called the police. He was put into restraints which made him become more irate.
Later a black nurse came to him (after being requested) and he explained that he was scared, felt all alone, and no one was answering any of his questions. The less they responded, the angrier he became. He was released from the restraints almost immediately after the black nurse arrived and began to get his questioned answered.
Culture and behavior go hand in hand. If your cultural competency and cross-cultural communication skills are on par to where you want them to be this new standard the Joint Commission is putting into effect will be taken care of in the course of how your organization operates each and every day. Patient-centeredness and this new standard are very much in alignment; as such there is no patient-centeredness without cultural competence.
If you want to learn more about tools for Cross-Cultural Communication, email me at amrijohnson@gmail.com.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Institute for Diversity in Health Management
We've been away for a while. But are moving back to regular postings.
I recently had the chance to attend the bi-annual conference of the Institute for Diversity in Health Management. In attendance were a number of top hospital systems including Trinity Health, HCA, Community Health Network (Indianapolis), and Texas Health Resources.
The conference was a tremendous opportunity to network with some of the finest minds in the area of diversity and cultural competency in healthcare. I will write more later.
In the meantime, stay tuned for a BIG Project that you will be able to participate in!
I recently had the chance to attend the bi-annual conference of the Institute for Diversity in Health Management. In attendance were a number of top hospital systems including Trinity Health, HCA, Community Health Network (Indianapolis), and Texas Health Resources.
The conference was a tremendous opportunity to network with some of the finest minds in the area of diversity and cultural competency in healthcare. I will write more later.
In the meantime, stay tuned for a BIG Project that you will be able to participate in!
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