Saturday, October 12, 2024
10/12/2024
Having medical problems and staying in hospitals can cause anxiety and unease; imagine if on top of this, people did not understand or speak English and needed to get their medical problems diagnosed and treated. In the United States, there are rules to help people with limited English proficiency (LEP) who may speak another language, but they do not know how to speak English. People have the right to ask for a medical interpreter who can translate and this service must be free. When people can understand what is going on, their health improves, they can make better decisions, and they are more likely to be able to do better after released from the hospital. Jefferson Health-New Jersey (JH-NJ) consists of three hospitals in the southern part of New Jersey, and also has outpatient offices as well as is part of a larger series of hospitals in Jefferson Health, which includes several hospitals in Pennsylvania. JH-NJ provides care to all patients, regardless of the ability to speak English, and wants to achieve four goals: 1) Increase awareness that people in the public and healthcare workers in the hospitals know that language interpreter services are available and free to patients and families. 2) Review policies around improving language access within the hospitals and from an organization in the community. 3) Increase the number of people who use language interpreter services, use technology to educate staff and individuals with LEP, and train and develop people in the public to have special training to become medical interpreters. 4) Review why people come back to the hospital after they are released, and teach the public about these reasons and about health issues, what questions to ask, and how to navigate the hospital once admitted. JH-NJ plans to have a team of people to work on this grant who have knowledge in patient safety, quality, project management, patient experience, and equity. They will partner with a community organization Acenda which also does outreach to South Jersey as well as with Canopy, a technology company. Through several strategies, JH-NJ is hopeful that as a result of the grant, this will help to improve awareness of medical interpretation needs, enhance communication amongst patients and their doctors and nurses, and achieve better health outcomes in vulnerable people such as those with LEP.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
