Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak held a press conference Dec. 3 to announce a new initiative to improve language services for patients thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

The foundation is the United States’ largest philanthropic organization devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans.
Currently, Arabic and Chaldean language services are needed the most for patients at Beaumont, followed by Spanish, Russian, and Albanian. In 2008, Arabic and Chaldean patients made up 46% of those seeking language assistance compared with 19% for Spanish, 12% for Russian and 4% for Albanian. The hospital currently offers translation services for 41 different languages including sign language for the hearing-impaired.

Beaumont is one of nine hospitals participating in RWJF’s national language initiative, which has a goal of raising the overall quality of health care in targeted communities while reducing racial and ethnic disparities and providing models for national reform.

“We are committed to providing the highest-quality care to all patients, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or primary language,” said Shane Cerone, senior VP and hospital director of Beaumont Royal Oak.

“We are honored to be a part of this collaborative, which places us on the frontlines of efforts to improve communications between health care providers and patients.”

Oakwood and St. Joseph Mercy Oakland hospitals are also participating in the language initiative. Beaumont and these hospitals will use the funds to test new ideas, quantify results, and share lessons learned with other hospitals both local and national to continue to develop a language program that works to meet patients’ needs.

Beaumont already offers a phone-based language line, a real-time communication service for patients, and the grant will allow the hospital to place extra attention on a growing area of need.

“The population in southeast Michigan has grown in the last ten years and will continue to grow; we need to be prepared for that,” said Lauren Hill, who serves as diversity director for Beaumont Hospitals.

“When you’re not able to effectively communicate with your patients the outcomes are not going to be ideal.”

Beaumont Hospitals is a three-hospital regional health care provider with 1,711 licensed beds, 18,000 employees and 3,000 physicians in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties. For more information, visit Beaumont on the Web at www.beaumonthospitals.com.