{"id":59017,"date":"2023-07-25T12:20:31","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T19:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=59017"},"modified":"2023-07-25T12:20:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T19:20:31","slug":"can-not-speaking-english-kill-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=59017","title":{"rendered":"Can Not Speaking English Kill You?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Peter White<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For the millions of Americans with limited English proficiency, finding providers who speak their language continues to be a challenge, hampering access to quality care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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(CDC photo via Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The St. Thomas Family Health Center in Nashville serves patients of all ages whether or not they have insurance. The community clinic is part of the Ascension Medical Group, a large non-profit Catholic healthcare system with hospitals and clinics in 16 states.<\/p>\n

This popular center is located on Nashville\u2019s west side, right next to St. Ann\u2019s Catholic Church on Charlotte Avenue. Both minister to a largely immigrant population and have been there for more than two decades.<\/p>\n

The clinic is open 45 hours per week and provides primary care for immigrant women and their children as well as patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes.<\/p>\n

Physical exams, pap smears, blood tests, low-cost prescriptions, vaccines, and flu shots\u00a0are all available. Spanish-speaking mothers who are pregnant or have young children chat amiably with the front office staff who are all bi-lingual. Most of the nurses and practitioners are also bi-lingual.<\/p>\n

Culturally-Appropriate Health Care<\/h2>\n

But St. Thomas may be an anomaly in the health care world. Fourteen million people in the US do not speak English, while 25.5 million say they speak it \u201cless than very well.\u201d Yet finding providers who speak at least one of the panoply of languages spoken in the US is a difficult task that prevents non-English and limited English proficient speakers from getting the care they need.<\/p>\n

When it comes to preventive services, more people with little or no English have not had their blood pressure taken or cholesterol checked in the last two years, have not gotten a flu shot or had a physical or seen a dentist in the last year.<\/p>\n

Cancer Screenings<\/h2>\n

Dr. Ingrid J. Hall, an epidemiologist with the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a recent\u00a0study<\/u><\/a>\u00a0of Hispanic adults linking English proficiency to access to healthcare services.<\/p>\n

Hall measured differences between three groups of patients. The control group, non-Hispanic whites, had the highest percentage (84%) of regular health care. The group who were comfortable with English (78%) was second highest. Only 69% of Hispanics with limited comfort speaking English had a regular provider.<\/p>\n

The epidemiologist\u00a0led the CDC\u2019s campaign to make more women aware of the importance of getting mammograms to find breast cancer early.<\/p>\n

Health Literacy<\/h2>\n

\u201cOur money from Congress goes directly to the state. Then we encourage our state partners to partner with community based organizations that are going to\u00a0reach the populations that we want to reach,\u201d Hall said at an Ethnic Media Services news briefing July 21.<\/p>\n

Regular screening and prompt diagnosis can reduce illness and death from breast or cervical cancer especially for women over 50 who account for more than 75% of those cancers.<\/p>\n

Improving health literacy and addressing barriers to care will require a \u201cmulti-pronged\u201d approach including education, insurance disparities, and other social determinants of health, said Hall.<\/p>\n

Changing Demographics<\/h2>\n
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