Responding to Latinos’ Concerns, Virginia Hospital System Addresses Cultural Sensitivity, Expands Bilingual Services

Responding to low-income and uninsured Latino patients' "frustrat[ion] at the "lack of interpreter services" at Virginia's Inova Health System has taken steps to address "cultural sensitivity" issues at its five hospitals, focusing "initially" on Inova Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, Va., the Washington Business Journal reports. The Tenants' and Workers' Support Committee, an advocacy group that represents about 80 uninsured Latinos who owe the hospital $400 to $51,000 in medical bills, recently released a report outlining barriers that Latinos face to accessing health care at Inova Alexandria. The committee surveyed 221 uninsured Latino patients who received care at Inova Alexandria in 1999 and 2000. According to the report, half of the Latino patients said that they did not have access to an interpreter at the hospital, and 90% who needed assistance with their bills said that they were never informed about "payment assistance." In addition, some said that they were "discouraged when dealing with nurses, receptionists and billing clerks."

Inova Takes Action
To address these issues, Inova Alexandria has met with the support committee, and Inova Health System has hired a consultant, the Northern Virginia Health Education Center, to "work on cultural sensitivity training" in its five hospitals and in its health centers in Northern Virginia. In addition, Inova Alexandria is working to ensure that patients have access to an interpreter 24 hours a day and will augment its bilingual signs. The hospital also plans to meet on an individual basis with the patients represented by the Support Committee to discuss "possible" new payment options (Silva, Washington Business Journal, 4/9).