Be prepared: Hispanics have a variety of needs
(Editor’s note: In this second part of a two-part series on the growing Hispanic population, we tell you how to attract and serve the Hispanic population. In last month’s issue, we told you what specific challenges you face and how to overcome them.)
If your same-day surgery center offers services targeted to Hispanic patients, you have an opportunity to do more than just surgery on that one day, says Carlos A. Rodriquez, MD, a Geneva, IL-based gastroenterologist who has just opened Kendall Pointe Surgical Center. The surgery center is designed to serve a multicultural population in Geneva and surrounding areas.
Language and cultural barriers often keep Hispanic patients from taking advantage of screenings for diabetes and colon cancer, two diseases that are prevalent in Spanish-language communities, he says. By making information and even the screenings available in a facility that is easy to access, the facility can attract and keep patients loyal to the facility and the physicians, he says.
Provide educational information in Spanish and bilingual staff members who can explain the disease process and reassure patients that the staff and physicians associated with the same-day surgery program do understand their needs, advises Armando Riera, BSN, RN, CNOR, nurse liaison at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. This helps build the familiarity that is essential for members of the Hispanic population to trust your facility, he adds.
A Spanish-speaking patient is more likely to go to a friendly face for health care information, says Riera. Reliance upon family friends is just as important as reliance upon family for support, he explains. "Sometimes, a patient will ask the local pharmacist for a second opinion even if the patient has just come from a physician’s office," he says. This is most likely to happen when the health care provider did not speak Spanish or did not have staff members who could explain the patient’s care in Spanish, he adds. A pharmacist in a Hispanic area of town is likely to speak Spanish and understand the patient’s culture, he says. This makes the pharmacist more trustworthy in the patient’s eyes, Riera explains.
Another aspect of attracting and serving the Hispanic population is to demonstrate your respect for the language and the culture, Rodriquez says. "Same-day surgery centers are very busy places, but if we take a little extra time to find out what our patients need, we will be able to meet those needs," he says.
Bilingual staff are valuable assets
One extra service that is important to the SDS program and the patient is a bilingual employee who can help explain the financial aspects of health care, no matter what language is spoken, says Rodriquez. "We handle all filing of claims and explain the process to the family," he says. These bilingual employees also are available if the family or patient has follow-up questions after the day of surgery, he adds.
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