Track 1-1b
Management

Cultural Diversity and Health Services Delivery

In a large medical center, the delivery of health care across cultural lines is the norm, not the exception. The gap between provider and patient can be as obvious as differences in language and appearance, or as subtle as disparate economic status. Sensitivity and skill should be part of every interaction. But, how do you convey that message and teach critical skills at a busy academic center with a constant turnover of students and residents? This presentation will explore one approach that has been used on our campus to build sensitivity and skill...international service. Over the last decade, staff, from technicians to attending physicians, have had the opportunity to serve and teach in regions from Central Eastern Europe to South Korea. That service may take the form of organized humanitarian aid activities, such as our USAID sponsored partnership with Latvia, in which we have assisted with sweeping changes in the health care delivery system. The involvement may also be informal, such as providing technical support and equipment donation to a staff member whose temple wishes to intervene in refugee camps or small hamlets in Vietnam. Regardless of the scope of the international project, our medical center has always received a great deal more than we have ever given. This presentation will discuss the techniques that we have used to coordinate international service in a manner that insures our effectiveness in fields far from home and assists our medical center staff in the ongoing effort to reach and maintain cultural competency.

Barbara Bogomolov, RN, BSN, MS
Refugee Health and Interpreter Services
Barnes-Jewish Hospital/ BJC Health System
4905 Forest Park Parkway
St. Louis, Missouri 63110
Phone (314) 747-5683 and Fax (314) 747-5778
bogo@inlink.com

Barbara Bogomolov has coordinated transcultural health care initiatives domestically and internationally for over ten years. At present the refugee health services of BJC Health system provides linguistic and transcultural bridging services for an average of 1900 cases per month. For the three years, she has served as the clinical coordinator for the USAID/AIHA health care partnership between St. Louis and the Republic of Latvia.  NEXT >

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