The problem identified, is that while Cone Health experiences diversity, as practitioners, providers of care often experience difficulty in communicating with patients who speak languages other than English. Thus, either communication is truncated or other nonconventional interventions are used. This communication misstep often occurs not because Cone Health does not have the necessary resources for translation/interpretation services, but oftentimes because of education or awareness and access to said services. The initial question regarding this project is: Will offering an Educational HLC on Interpretive Services improve the compliance in utilizing these services for our customers/patients/families? The burning question was triggered by observations of three tragic circumstances where interpretive services should/could have been initiated. The three instances are as follows: One, a teenage shot in the mouth having to interpret for his parents. Two, patient’s deaf wife was whaling loudly after her husband had passed away in the during a procedure. The family was hearing impaired and were utilizing minor children for interpret services (ASL Interpreter called to comfort her, but it was a 2-hour delay in providing appropriate interpretative services). Finally, children who spoke English over heard the request for an interpreter to communicate that their mother had died. Impact on Patient Outcomes Essay
The three instances that trigged this study identified areas for improvements in utilizing interpretative services during opportunities in crisis situations/interventions. In the case of the hearing-impaired family, the mobile device could have been accessed when the family arrived and prepared prior to. The staff did not know such a device was available until the chaplain arrived and suggested it be borrowed from another department. The device itself was easy to navigate and once the ASL interpreter appeared on screen and introduced herself, the loud whaling stopped and all seemed to be intently listening with their eyes and ears.
This type of intervention is easily applied when proper knowledge and education exists to assist staff in accessing interpretative services. Even though, this happened on a weekend, it is feasible to imply that this event could have occurred at any time of day. Every employee and volunteer of Cone Health need to be made aware of the legal ramifications and potential negative patient/customers outcomes. Cone Health must stress the importance of knowing the procedure on how to access needed interpretive services for patients and families in crisis at any time. Impact on Patient Outcomes Essay
Background
Approximately 57 million people, or 20% of the US population, speak a language other than
English at home, and approximately 25 million, or 8.6% of the U.S. population are defined as Limited English Proficiency (LEP). The Pew Research Center reported that approximately 50% of the newly insured will be minorities, and less likely to speak English. It should be noted that LEP have Longer Hospital Stays, greater risk for surgical delays due to lack understanding surgical instructions, and greater risk for readmission due to not understanding discharge instructions. It is important to remember that there are also legal requirements of hospitals to provide access to interpretive services. Title VI of the Civil rights Act mandates the interpreter services be provided for patients with limited English proficiency who need this service despite the lack of reimbursement. Thus, when staff does not initiate the use of interpretive services there can be legal liability and impacts to patient health.
Our goal for this quasi-longitudinal study was to identify if offering an Educational HLC on Interpretive Services would improve the compliance in utilizing these services for our customers/patients/families?” Impact on Patient Outcomes Essay
Methods
A survey monkey was utilize to identify any gaps in knowledge about the process Cone employee and volunteers assess interpretive services for non-English speaking patients, clients or guardians. Staff were contacted via email to participate in a survey about interpretive services. After reviewing the results, an educational power point, which contained the official Cone policy, was devised to address any gaps in knowledge. A post survey was delivered via email to assess any changes in practice.
The pre-survey consisted of fourteen questions. A total of 1778 employees and volunteers completed the pre-survey. Four demographic questions were used to identify roles, departments and campus location. The survey contain questions requesting the employees and volunteers to share their purpose for using interpretive services and how frequently. Based on a Likert scale, staff was asked about how comfortable were they requesting interpretive serv
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