The Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority (Pacific Hospital PDA) has announced continued support in 2012 for interpreter services for limited English proficient (LEP) Medicaid patients served by Pacific Medical Centers (PMC). Funding for the program in 2012 will range between $100,000 and $150,000, depending on patient volumes. The Pacific Hospital PDA has a long history of supporting high quality, culturally appropriate health care in our community. We believe that access to culturally appropriate health care begins with quality language interpretation.

According to the Institute of Medicine, Unequal Treatment, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, language barriers can have a significant impact on health care provision and patient outcomes. Language barriers may affect:

• the delivery of adequate care through poor exchange of information, loss of important cultural information, misunderstanding of physician instruction, and poor shared decision-making.
• patient compliance including adherence with medication regimes.
• appointment attendance.
• patient satisfaction with services.

History of Support

Since 2000, the Pacific Hospital PDA has had a contract with the Health Care Authority (HCA) to match Medicaid funding for interpreter services under the Medicaid Administrative Match program. The Pacific Hospital PDA subcontracts with Pacific Medical Centers to cover the cost of interpreter services for Medicaid patients.

From 2004 through the first quarter of 2012, the Pacific Hospital PDA funded over $3.7 million for interpreter services for Medicaid patients, including both Pacific Hospital PDA funds and Medicaid matching funds.

For the past several years, the percentage of Pacific Medical Center's limited English proficient (LEP) patients who are Medicaid eligible has averaged around 20%.

The average number of Medicaid LEP patients served each quarter from the start of 2010 through Quarter 1 2012 is about 580. The top five languages needing interpretation at PMC are Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Russian.

The Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority (Pacific Hospital PDA) partners with community organizations to improve access to health care services in Seattle/King County.

In 2011, the Pacific Hospital PDA funded more than $1.14 million in grants and program studies for improving access to health care for the underserved.

In 1981, the City of Seattle chartered the Pacific Hospital PDA, placing in its trust the Pacific Hospital and surrounding campus, a historic Seattle landmark. The Pacific Hospital PDA leases the property. The lease revenues are used to support health care access and culturally appropriate care in King County.