Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 25, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 15 H E A L T H C A R E F O C U S 190 Turnpike Road Westborough, MA 01581 8 0 0 - 5 4 0 - 4 9 9 3 | w w w . C u r r y P r i n t i n g . c o m Proudly Serving the Worcester Area Since 1978 Small business owners who shop through Health Connector for Business are saving an average of 20 percent on their health insurance premiums. You may be able to earn an additional 15 percent back at the end of the year if you participate in our exclusive ConnectWell rebate program. Want to save more on your health insurance? www.MAhealthconnector.org/Business Responding to a diversifying patient population Worcester's population has grown more diverse in recent decades, and more immigrants today don't come from English-speaking countries than in the past. In 1990, about 15,000 Worcester residents were foreign-born, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2017, that number hit nearly 40,000. e rate of city residents born elsewhere soared over that time from 9% to 22%. As of the 2010 Census, only one of the top 10 most common home countries for Worces- ter immigrants speak English as their primary language. Immigrants from Brazil, who speak Portugeuse, and Vietnam made up one out of five immigrants to Worcester at that time. UMass has quickly adjusted to a spike in the number of patients who don't speak English as their primary language. e hospital's inter- preter staff primarily speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese and a handful of other common languages. Some are im- migrants who have a medical background in their home country and are using the medical interpreter job to get themselves settled into a new life and career in the United States, Camelo said. Among the expanded roster of interpreters at UMass is Kevin Correa, a Colombia native who moved to the U.S. at 12 and came with a knowledge of English basics from school. Correa and others schedule some patient interactions in advance for those receiving outpatient services, and other- wise sit at the ready for someone in the emergency room or other units who may need help right away. Correa said he's found family members of patients to be increasingly thankful for interpreter services, feeling more at ease with someone who has both the language skills and medical know- how to ensure nothing's getting lost. e service can be especially needed during delicate conversations. "It's definitely gotten to the point where it's more appreciated now," said Correa, who's been interpreting in Span- ish at UMass for four years. Much of UMass' expansion in inter- preter services has been thanks to use of phone and video language services connecting patients to dozens more lan- guages around-the-clock in just seconds. e number of patient interactions through in-house staff has remained flat in the past five years, but the total num- ber has climbed by a third during that time. e number of calls by phone is up 75% in those five years, and since video use began in 2008, it has grown to take up 9% of all interpreter interactions. at last percentage is bound to rise sharply. UMass has 100 portable video units in use today across its three Worcester campuses, but plans to increase to 220. For the emergency department in par- ticular, Camelo said, the hospital wants to provide interpreter services within seconds if needed. Giving a critical service Language barriers can create an obstacle to patients' access to care and present a safety issue when communi- cations by a physician or the healthcare team are not well understood, said Dr. Maryanne Bombaugh, the president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. "As a medical society, it is our belief that health care is a basic human right," Bombaugh said, "and expanding efforts to make available to patients services that promote access to optimal care is not only a move in the right direction, it is an ethical obligation." Dr. Patricia Noga, the vice president for clinical affairs at the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, sees medical interpreters as making a major difference in treating patients with limited English proficiency. Professional, real-time interpreter services can reduce verbal and cultural miscommunication, leading to more accurate diagnoses, a better under- standing of and adherence to treatment plans, and improved patient satisfac- tion, Noga said. "Medical interpreters oen serve as active proponents for healthcare pro- viders and patients alike," Noga said, "and studies also indicate that profes- sional medical interpreter services can reduce readmissions." Connie Camelo, the UMass director of interpreter services, has demonstrated medical benefits in expanding such services. W

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