When English Becomes a Barrier to Care

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Donna Jodhan

When English Becomes a Barrier to Care
By Donna J. Jodhan

 
Who would have thought that this particular circumstance would somehow raise its head in our midst and at one of America’s most prestigious medical centers?  Yes, at MD Anderson where many patients do not speak English as a first language.  On the one hand it is nice to know that many people travel far and wide to seek the help of the staff at MD Anderson, but on the other hand there needs to be some attention paid to being able to deal more efficiently with the non-English-speaking patient population and not just at MD Anderson but at other centers across the country as well.
 
About four years ago, I visited MD Anderson under sad circumstances; to be at my brother’s bedside as he fought to defy cancer and I was extremely pleased and happy to see how the staff handled those of their patients whose first language was not English.  It was the first time that I was able to witness so many different languages being spoken by both staff and patient alike and I marveled at the way in which everything went so smoothly language wise.  However, and based on the reference that I have provided below, it can easily be said that speaking English could become a barrier to the provision of medical services.  Please see my reference below; it gives a really great in depth picture.
 
When English Becomes a Barrier to Care
WQAD – Moline,IL,USA
About 60 percent of MD Anderson’s non-English business is Spanish; another 28 percent is Arabic. Turkish, Vietnamese and Mandarin Chinese round out the top …
Read more at:
http://www.wqad.com/sns-health-language-barrier-healthcare,0,4264805.story
 
 
I’m Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day.
Donna J. Jodhan is the president of Sterling Creations
Now you can view blogs and editorials written by Donna at:
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com (Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all)
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca (monthly editorial on issues concerning diversity)
 http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 (access and accessibility)
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php (accessibility issues in Canada)
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
http://www.onestopbookcafe.com (under the café talk link) 
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm (important answers to consumers concerns)
https://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html (monthly editorial)
https://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html (blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants)http://www.wqad.com/sns-health-language-barrier-healthcare,0,4264805.story
 
 
I’m Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day.
Donna J. Jodhan is the president of Sterling Creations
Now you can view blogs and editorials written by Donna at:
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com (Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all)
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca (monthly editorial on issues concerning diversity)
 http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 (access and accessibility)
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php (accessibility issues in Canada)
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
http://www.onestopbookcafe.com (under the café talk link) 
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm (important answers to consumers concerns)
https://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html (monthly editorial)
https://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html (blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants)
 
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About Donna Jodhan

Donna Jodhan is an award winning blind author, advocate, sight loss coach, blogger, podcast commentator, and accessibility specialist.
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