Track 3-1a
Management

Cultural Diversity Cornerstones for Administration and Management

The Office of Diversity at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC) has been working to reduce linguistic and cultural barriers between itself and its members for the past 42 years. Our systems approach has spanned the organization. During this time, we have developed a variety of programs and services including the following:

Medical Interpreter Training Program System to provide interpreters for the sales department Foundations in cross-cultural health care, a course for physicians Gay and Lesbian Issues in Health Care, a panel presentation Multilingual audio phone orientation, and Diversity at Work sessions for staff. I will describe some of our innovative programs with a focus on linguistic access, identify what we have so far found to be the practical key ingredients of cultural competence for health care organizations, share results, and discuss some of the new territory that we are now exploring.

Marilyn R. Gellner, M.S.W., MA
Project Manager, Office of Diversity
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
10 Brookline Place West
Brookline MA 02146
Phone: 617-730-7730
FAX: 617-731-8211
marilyn_gellner@hphc.org

Marilyn Gellner is the Project Manager for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care’s Office of Diversity, which has gained national recognition for its diversity-related programs and initiatives. Harvard Pilgrim is the largest HMO in New England, serving over 1.2 million members in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. During her four and 2 years with Harvard Pilgrim, Marilyn has spearheaded the organization’s efforts to be inclusive of Limited English Proficient (LEP) members.
  Marilyn has a Master of Arts in Intercultural Relations from Lesley College and a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. Her twenty-year career includes extensive experience overseas, and work in intercultural communications/relations, social work, sales, and project management. She has been appointed to the (Massachusetts) Governor’s Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants, and participates on a national advisory committee that is working to establish recommendations for cultural and linguistic competence in health care.  NEXT >

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