New York Hospital Focuses on Cultural Competency with Influx of Pakistani Immigrants

With the number of Pakistani prenatal patients at Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Coney Island Hospital increasing, the facility is working to become "culturally sensitive" to immigrant cultures, Newsday reports. While several hospitals in the area have made "cultural accommodations" in response to the "jump" in the number of Pakistani Muslims who have immigrated to Brooklyn, the "shift has been unusually swift" at Coney Island. To address cultural and religious concerns, Dr. Edwin Bronstein, head of obstetrics and gynecology at the hospital, organized a meeting with Muslim leaders. After that meeting, hospital officials had signs translated into Urdu, Russian, Spanish and Chinese. In addition, the hospital had a lounge converted into a mosque, built an ablution area in the bathroom, and has increased the number of Pakistanis on staff to help with translation. Brian Palmer, associate executive director of the hospital, said most of the outreach was focused on OB/GYN and pediatrics as Pakistani immigrants "tend to be younger," adding, "We don't see significant numbers of Pakistani adults in other departments, so we have concentrated our efforts on women's health." Newsday reports the "biggest challenge" for the hospital is to get women to come to the hospital earlier in pregnancy, as city health department figures indicate 34% of pregnant Pakistani women received "late or no prenatal care" in 1999 (Ramirez, Newsday, 8/5).