The vision of Barnes-Jewish Hospital along with our partner Washington University School of Medicine is to be national leaders in medicine and the patient experience. Our mission is to take exceptional care of people. We value integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence. As such, the Center for Diversity and Cultural Competence (CDCC) is one more way we’re living up to our mission.
We aim to ensure that our patients have equal access to high quality health care, regardless of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity, language, class, sexual orientation or any other diverse identity. As national leaders in health care, we will engage and develop a high-quality diverse workforce. We are committed to providing education and training for our team members to equip them with skills and tools to provide safe care to our patients in a culturally appropriate, patient- and family-centered way.
The CDCC was established in 2006 to promote an inclusive environment that ensures equitable care for all. To achieve this purpose, the CDCC will:
- Increase cultural competence through education and development for our team members
- Leverage diversity to advance organizational culture at Barnes-Jewish
- Reduce language barriers through effective utilization of Language Services for our patients and their loved ones
AREAS OF FOCUS
Language Services
Ensuring effective communication in a timely manner is critical to providing safe and equitable care for our patients who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), or those with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
Our language services team ensures the needs of our DHH and LEP patients are met by providing:
- Interpretation services
- Translation of documents and materials
Our language services team can facilitate interpreter services in more than 80 languages to assist our patients and their loved ones. The Barnes-Jewish interpreter staff, in partnership with national and local organizations, provides these unique services by utilizing:
- In-person interpretation
- Video-remote interpretation
- Over-the-phone interpretation
All essential steps are taken to provide services in a variety of languages, including Arabic, Spanish, Nepali, Bosnian, and American Sign Language (ASL). Patient interpretation services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 314.747.5682. Learn more about interpreter and language services.
Education and Development For Our Team
We are a diverse organization serving a diverse community. Evidence-based cultural competency, diversity, and inclusion training for our team members are essential to providing equitable care to all our patients.
Educational courses for our team members are designed to help them develop cultural competency and communication skills to recognize cultural differences. We also help them gain insight into the multiple dimensions of diversity in themselves and others. Our goal is to provide team members the knowledge and tools to create inclusive environments where all people who enter our hospital feel valued for who they are.
We work to educate our team members on a variety of topics, including:
- Cultural competence
- Diversity and inclusion
- Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) health care
- Unconscious bias
CONTACT US
Center for Diversity and Cultural Competence
Mailstop 90-72-427
One Barnes-Jewish Hospital Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63110
Phone: 314.362.8899
Fax: 314.362.8955
Email: [email protected]