That day, Valverde could see the nurse’s concern about a possible language barrier. Valverde said that the nurse was more comfortable when she learned that her patient could communicate in English. However, the impact of this particular interaction remained in Valverde’s mind — what if I couldn’t speak English? The thought of a patient not being able to communicate with a health provider motivated Valverde’s efforts to help bridge this gap. Today, almost a decade later, there have been many positive changes at OSU Medical Center thanks to Valverde’s persistent efforts and commitment. She is now the Program Manager of Interpreter Services and with the help of her team, she is making a difference.
Born in Patterson, N.J., from Peruvian parents, Valverde holds a master’s degree in human resources from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Maryland. However, it is her experience traveling (32 countries) and working in Spain and Japan that provided Valverde with the exposure, understanding and empathy needed to treat patients in a culturally sensitive manner. In response to an increasingly diverse community in Ohio, which requires interpreting services, Valverde’s leadership has expanded the program. She has increased the competency of the interpreters and kept costs at bay at the Interpreter Services program at the Medical Center, which today handles over 25,800 language-service requests per year. The program’s objective is to deliver competent, personalized and compassionate health care to all patients who lack English proficiency. Highly qualified medical interpreters serve as a bridge in communication and cultural awareness between patients and their families, and the healthcare providers.
“Equity is a key element in achieving quality care,” Valverde said, “and it is achieved by providing care that does not vary in quality by personal characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, geographic location and socioeconomic status.” However, the impact of culture- and language-appropriate care goes beyond the concept of equity. According to Valverde, research has shown that racial and ethnic disparities in health care have an impact on quality, safety, cost and risk management. Appropriate care to limited-English-proficiency patients is not only an indication of the institution's integrity, but also helps avoid misdiagnoses and medical errors, improves patient compliance with treatment regiments and increases patient satisfaction.
Similar to the nurse’s actions in Valverde’s story demonstrated 10 years ago, medical staff recognize the impact of provider-patient communications and very much want to help their patients. Cultural competency is a critical ingredient in closing the disparities gap in health care. In order to achieve long-lasting results through systematic and continuous shifts toward more culturally aware practices, it is important to have institutional and leadership commitment. For Valverde, “there is a need for more leaders to understand and be an agent of change to close the disparities gap. Our Latin@/Hispanic communities are deeply affected, and the Medical Center has a great opportunity to be a leader in diversity at all levels within the organization.” Fortunately, Valverde explains, the current leadership at the Medical Center is increasing its efforts.
Inspired by Pablo Picasso’s phrase, “la inspiración existe, pero tiene que encontrarte trabajando (Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working),” Valverde makes a call for action to the community: “Involúcrate para mejorar la comunidad donde residas y verás tus esfuerzos recompensados cuando veas el impacto de tus acciones (Get involved to improve the community where you live; you will see the payoff of your efforts through the impact of your actions)," she concluded.
For more information or to get involved, please contact Milly Valverde at milly.valverde@osumc.edu or visit http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/careers for jobs at the Medical Center.
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