Healthreach and Habla (a)
4 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 2009
Abstract
In 2004, there were 50 million non-English speakers in the United States and an additional 22 million who had marginal English proficiency. Many had no health insurance or access to low-cost, affordable health care. This case describes the dilemma faced in 2004 by Jim Zimmerman, the executive director of the Illinois-based HealthReach clinic, which served the area's uninsured poor, in deciding what initiatives to continue funding. One of these was Healthcare Access by Language Advocacy (HABLA), a medical interpretation program developed in 2001 to bridge the language gap between the volunteer medical staff and their Hispanic patients, many of whom spoke little or no English. This had proved an invaluable program, but Zimmerman's funds were tight.
Excerpt
UVA-E-0306
HealthReach and HABLA (A)
When Jim Zimmerman became the executive director of HealthReach clinic in 2004, he was faced with revamping the tight budget and choosing which of the free clinic's programs to expand. HealthReach was the only free clinic serving the uninsured poor in the Lake County, Illinois, area. The clinic offered traditional primary and preventive health care and was developing several other programs, including a primary care clinic for women and an eye care clinic for diabetic patients. One of several promising programs was Healthcare Access by Language Advocacy (HABLA), a medical interpretation program developed in 2001 to bridge the frustrating language gap between the volunteer medical staff and their Hispanic patients, many of whom spoke little or no English.
Barriers to Healthcare
In 2004, there were 50 million non-English speakers in the United States and an additional 22 million who had marginal English proficiency. These two groups intersected broadly with the 45.8 million people living in the country who had little to no medical insurance. Although there were no precise national figures, the population of medically uninsured, non-English-speaking individuals was significant.
Nationally, this language gap led medical experts to estimate that injuries and serious illnesses as a result of medical miscommunication and delayed treatment numbered in the thousands every year. In a case reported by the Medical College of Wisconsin, miscommunication between the health care professional and the patient led to a delay of treatment resulting in a ruptured aneurysm and quadriplegia. In another instance, a 17-year-old girl was faced with informing her aging grandfather that he was in the final stages of liver cancer because the patient was unable to understand his physician.
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Keywords: ethics, stakeholder management, business, healthcare, corporate social responsibility, leadership
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