News Release (Oakbrook, Ill. - August 25, 2008)

A new grant from The Commonwealth Fund will be used by The Joint Commission to revise and develop accreditation standards for culturally competent patient-centered care in hospitals across America.

This standards development initiative builds upon The Joint Commission's ongoing Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation study that examines how hospitals in the United States respond to the diverse cultural and language needs of their patients.

The Institute of Medicine's "Crossing the Quality Chasm" report identified patient-centered and equitable care as important elements of quality.

However, The Joint Commission study found that practices used to promote effective communication and cultural competence - critical elements of patient-centered and equitable care - vary widely from hospital to hospital.

"Hospitals face many challenges in caring for a rapidly changing patient population," says Paul M. Schyve, M.D., senior vice president, The Joint Commission.

"Sensitivity and responsiveness to cultural and language needs impact the quality of care, patient safety, and patient and family satisfaction.

This Commonwealth Fund-supported initiative will provide a firm foundation for standards that foster culturally competent patient-centered care."

Read the rest of this Joint Commission news release here

Before you order your Language LineŽ Phones, we want you to know that you have a choice.

A choice between our traditional beige dual handset phone and our "Speak Pink" version in support of the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

The "Speak Pink" phone operates exactly like our traditional phone, but has the distinctive pink color and breast cancer awareness pink ribbon logo.

Language barriers between patients and physicians significantly impact limited English speakers' access to mammograms, clinical breast exams and other early breast cancer detection methods, as well as preventative care.

The 'Speak Pink' phone is one more vehicle to help advance this mission while providing awareness and information to ethnic groups impacted by a language barrier who may not have the level of awareness afforded to others.

Part of the proceeds is donated to support the American Breast Cancer Foundation, with a minimum annual commitment from Language Line Services

Your facility can demonstrate its support by placing the pink dual handset phones as part of your breast cancer awareness and language access programs.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month though we can communicate in all languages the importance of breast cancer awareness year round.

Tell us you want to "Speak Pink"!

Order your special "Speak Pink" Language Line Phones here.

For more information, see press release "American Breast Cancer Foundation and Language Line Services Team Up To Fight Cancer".

When a doctor doesn't look an Asian-American patient in the eye, that might be seen as a sign of respect.

But making eye contact is encouraged with black patients, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), which has published a guidebook for culturally competent care.

As the country's ethnic profile diversifies, some states are trying to assure that health care providers are trained in "cultural competency."

Read the complete article online here

AAOS article on Guidebook for Culturally Competent Care can also be viewed here

"States Mandate Culturally Competent Healthcare" By FELICIA FONSECA (The Associated Press)

As the mental health system moves toward the adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in a push to improve quality, effectiveness, and accountability in mental health services, mental health care providers working with culturally diverse populations are faced with the new challenge of ensuring that these EBPs cater to the cultural preferences and diverse needs of their clients.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) addresses this challenge in a recent publication, "Evidence-Based Practices and Multicultural Mental Health".

The publication discusses cultural adaptations of EBPs along with the concept of practice-based evidence (PBE), which describes "a set of unique and inherent cultural practices that have non-traditional evidence based upon community consensus."

You may access this 8-page resource here.

From the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention, this toolkit provides information and benchmark tools for the implementation of cultural and linguistic competence to support the positive development of children and families through the implementation of services, activities, and interventions based on a model of community collaboration.

You can access the toolkit here

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