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Multicultural Advisory Council focuses on language support, bias education

Enhancing employee training on how to prevent bias and discrimination against patients and their families and continuing to recruit bilingual staff are among the goals for Penn State Health’s Multicultural Advisory Council in 2024-2025.

Key goals involve:

  • Expand employee training: Increase training on preventing bias and discrimination, emphasizing its business-related importance in delivering diverse patient care.
  • Recruit bilingual staff: Boost the number of employees fluent in languages other than English, particularly in front desk roles.
  • Improve discharge paperwork: Make timely discharge papers available in languages other than English, potentially through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
  • Measure impact: Develop a system to measure the financial impact of the council’s recommendations on patient care.

Removing language barriers

Those plans grow from last year’s objectives to improve language support for patients who speak a language other than English and address any alleged bias/discrimination issues experienced by diverse patients:

  • AI for translation: Exploring the use of AI as a tool for translating documents.
  • Community support: Consider involving community members to help with interpreter needs.
  • Benchmarking: Compare Penn State Health’s efforts with those of leading organizations such as Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic.
  • Engaging legislators: Work with legislators to increase their awareness of what Penn State Health is doing to make sure patients, who are their constituents, feel understood.
  • Workforce diversity: Continue to diversify the workforce to better reflect the patient population and enhance diverse patients’ care experiences.

“We serve patients who speak 23 different languages at all Penn State Health locations. By 2029, the number of people in our region who speak a language other than English is expected to grow by 2%. Are we prepared to handle the influx of patients who are bilingual?” Lynette Chappell-Williams, vice president and chief diversity officer, asked.

Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey, Holy Spirit and St. Joseph medical centers, as well as at Medical Group practices, according to September 2023 data. Nepali is the primary non-English language spoken at Hampden Medical Center.

“We’ve increased the number of on-site interpreters, including for the first time Nepali and American Sign Language interpreters, and trained and tested employees to be qualified medical interpreters through our pilot program,” Chappell-Williams said. “But these efforts need to remain a priority. We must continue to increase the number of qualified medical interpreters and employees who are bilingual, as well as implement strong language support policies.”

The council also recommended streamlining the translation process for discharge papers to reduce delays.

Addressing bias and discrimination

An external survey showed that about half of U.S. health care workers said they have witnessed racial discrimination against patients. A nationally representative research sample of adults found that 21% of respondents indicated they have experienced discrimination when receiving health care.

“Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in specified health programs or activities, including those that receive federal financial assistance,” said Chappell-Williams. “This, along with our goal of excellent patient care, mean we must continue to focus on preventing bias and discrimination.”

Penn State Health’s Multicultural Advisory Council is one of three diversity-focused councils reporting accomplishments from the past fiscal year and proposing next steps. Cochaired by Dr. Esteban Mercado-Rodriguez, Palliative Medicine, and Chappell-Williams, the council was created in 2023 to advance nondiscrimination policies and promote an inclusive care and work environment throughout Penn State Health.

Chappell-Williams and Mercado-Rodriguez presented the council’s report to Deborah Addo, Penn State Health president and chief operating officer, and Steve Massini, CEO, in August.

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