Throughout the course so far, the topic of culturally competent care and how to care for the many cultures in our society is becoming ever more prevalent. The subject of culturally competent care is so relevant in today’s society, as many immigrants are coming over to the United States for a better life. An important aspect of that better life is to provide the best culturally competent care to each and every patient. Upon observing the local hospital near me, I found out how the CLAS standards, developed by the Office of Minority Health, are being implemented into the organization. Upon entering the health care facility, I noticed that the hospital had a very warmhearted and welcoming atmosphere to it. The staff was very friendly and always
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Looking around I could see how it would be almost intimidating to step into this hospital if English was not the most common language a person used. However, the diverse staff here would help ease the intimidation factor of being in the minority. A staff member, whose name requested to remain anonymous, talked about their own experience working in the hospital. They explained to me that although interpretive services are not in the building at all times, upon request they can contact someone to come to the hospital (C.S, personal communication, September 4, 2016). According to Purnell, that aligns with the CLAS standards that say, health care facilities must have interpretive services to people and be at no cost to the patient (Purnell, 2013). This showed that the standard was being used, however, interpretive services were only available upon request, and not in house at all times. This could become problematic if they need interpretive services with no one working.
While speaking to the staff member I also found it interesting that they do not have interpretive services fully staff at all times because there is not much diversity coming into the hospital anyways. They further explained that they do not need to spend money on a service that hardly gets used. The staff member also …show more content…
In the hospital nearly all the signs in and around the hospital were made to be read in the English language. When asked, the staff member suggested that almost all patients that come into the hospital have some basic form of English and can comprehend the signs (C.S, personal communication, September 4, 2016). The signs are not only in English, but they are large enough for people to see and most provide an illustration on it so people can understand what the sign means. Also, they have arrows pointing in a certain direction where main parts of the hospital are so patients can tell where certain departments are. I think this is something that is helpful for patients who have a hard time understanding the English language. This provides evidence that the hospital provides easy to see print in the English. (Think Cultural Health, 2011). That is a significant component to the CLAS standards that was set by the Office of Minority
Looking around I could see how it would be almost intimidating to step into this hospital if English was not the most common language a person used. However, the diverse staff here would help ease the intimidation factor of being in the minority. A staff member, whose name requested to remain anonymous, talked about their own experience working in the hospital. They explained to me that although interpretive services are not in the building at all times, upon request they can contact someone to come to the hospital (C.S, personal communication, September 4, 2016). According to Purnell, that aligns with the CLAS standards that say, health care facilities must have interpretive services to people and be at no cost to the patient (Purnell, 2013). This showed that the standard was being used, however, interpretive services were only available upon request, and not in house at all times. This could become problematic if they need interpretive services with no one working.
While speaking to the staff member I also found it interesting that they do not have interpretive services fully staff at all times because there is not much diversity coming into the hospital anyways. They further explained that they do not need to spend money on a service that hardly gets used. The staff member also …show more content…
In the hospital nearly all the signs in and around the hospital were made to be read in the English language. When asked, the staff member suggested that almost all patients that come into the hospital have some basic form of English and can comprehend the signs (C.S, personal communication, September 4, 2016). The signs are not only in English, but they are large enough for people to see and most provide an illustration on it so people can understand what the sign means. Also, they have arrows pointing in a certain direction where main parts of the hospital are so patients can tell where certain departments are. I think this is something that is helpful for patients who have a hard time understanding the English language. This provides evidence that the hospital provides easy to see print in the English. (Think Cultural Health, 2011). That is a significant component to the CLAS standards that was set by the Office of Minority