December 13, 2006

Hennepin County Medical Center, Regions Hospital selected among 10 hospitals nationwide by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve language services to patients
Twin Cities, Minn. Regions Hospital in St. Paul and Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) in Minneapolis are two of 10 hospitals nationwide selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to participate in Speaking Together: National Language Services Network, a national program to improve the quality of health care provided to patients with limited English proficiency.

The hospitals will participate in a 16-month learning collaborative that will examine how hospitals communicate with non-English-speaking patients, and how hospital staff can better structure and manage language services programs to provide more effective and timely communications to these patients.

"We are excited about the opportunity to enter into a national discussion about best practices in the provision of language services with other organizations committed to doing this work," said Sidney Van Dyke, manager of interpreter services at Regions. "We feel we have much to offer, considering our 31-year history having interpreters on staff at Regions. The fact that two Twin Cities' hospitals were chosen to participate in the program speaks volumes about the level of commitment area hospitals have to providing high-quality language services to patients and their families who need them."

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by The George Washington Universitys School of Public Health and Health Services, Speaking Together is the latest addition to the Foundations programs to improve the quality of health care in America, while eliminating racial and ethnic disparities.

HCMC has one of the largest interpreter services departments in the U.S. "We consider this a great opportunity to discover ways our department can help improve health outcomes for all Twin Cities residents," said Anthony Gardner, Director of HCMCs Interpreter Services Department, "as well as improve our services to the limited English-speaking populations of the Twin Cities metro area. Being chosen to participate in this prestigious collaborative is a testament to the excellent work of our staff to serve the limited English-speaking patients and families at HCMC."

Research shows that when patients have difficulty communicating with their health care providers, they are far less likely to understand their conditions, adequately communicate symptoms or adhere to treatment recommendations. While all hospitals nationwide are legally required to provide language services to patients who speak limited English, there are no federal guidelines on the most effective ways to communicate with these patients.

"Language differences represent one of the most obvious barriers to the provision of quality medical care," said Marsha Regenstein, PhD, MCP, associate professor in the department of Health Policy at George Washington University and director of the Speaking Together national program office. "Just as any patient expects care from a trained, qualified health care professional, a patient with limited English proficiency should expect that timely interpreter services are provided by professionals who are specially trained to interpret health and medical information."

Both Regions and HCMC will receive a grant of up to $60,000, as well as technical assistance and training using quality improvement measures developed by the George Washington University Department of Health Policy.

Proven best practices learned from these two Twin Cities hospitals, as well as other Speaking Together participants, will be shared with health professionals across the nation, giving hospitals with linguistically diverse patients proven examples of effective language services programs and techniques they can adopt.

HCMC is a nationally recognized Level 1 Trauma Center with the largest emergency department in Minnesota. The comprehensive academic medical center and public teaching hospital includes a 424-bed acute care hospital and primary care and specialty clinics located in downtown Minneapolis, and four primary care clinics in Minneapolis and suburban Hennepin County. For the tenth year in a row, HCMC is listed in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the top U.S. Hospitals in its annual Americas Best Hospitals report. For more information about interpreter services at HCMC, visit www.hcmc.org.

Regions Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center and teaching hospital serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin for more than 130 years. Regions is a private, non-profit hospital providing outstanding care in womens health, heart, cancer, surgery, orthopaedics, neuroscience, burn, emergency care and more. Regions is part of the HealthPartners family of care. Additional information is available at www.regionshospital.com.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nations largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.

Contacts:Jennifer Kovacich, Regions Hospital (651) 629-0411jennifer.a.kovacich@healthpartners.com

Christine Hill, Hennepin County Medical Center (612) 873-5719 christine.a.hill@co.hennepin.mn.us