As America Trends Toward More Diversity, Health System Is Accommodating Unique Cultural Needs
Doctors are now being trained to deliver culturally appropriate care to patients of many backgrounds, learning different languages, and adjusting care based on the needs of their diverse patients.
Stateline:
Health Care Adjusts To A More Diverse America
That future is already visible in Sacramento County and neighboring Yolo County, where West Sacramento is located: by 2013 the combined population of Hispanic, black, Asian and other nonwhite residents had edged out whites. In West Sacramento, a historically working-class county across the river from the state capital, more than 2 out of 5 public schoolchildren already speak a language other than English at home. Sacramento-area hospitals, community health centers and doctor’s offices have had to adapt. They’ve hired more multilingual, bicultural staff. They’ve contracted with interpretation services. The medical school at the University of California, Davis, is trying to figure out how to recruit more Latino students to a profession that remains largely white and Asian. And doctors are being trained to deliver culturally appropriate care to patients of many backgrounds. (Quinton, 2/13)
