CULTURAL

COMPETENCY
EXPLORATION PROJECT
Megan Schleigh
King University
 Learning Objectives:

■ -National CLAS Standards

■ CLAS Standards
■ Chosen Healthcare Setting
■ Healthcare Setting Policy
■ Crosswalk and C-CAT
■ Evaluation
■ Discussion
 What are the National CLAS Standards?

The National Standards for Culturally and

Linguistically Appropriate Services
(CLAS) Standards are a set of action steps
intended to help your health or health care
organization improve its provision of culturally
and linguistically appropriate services and
therefore better meet the needs of all
individuals, regardless of cultural background
and/or communication needs.

(King University, n. d.)

 Location: University of Tennessee Medical
Center, Knoxville TN

CLAS Standard: Ensure the competence

of individuals providing language
assistance, recognizing that the use of
untrained individuals and/or minors as
interpreters should be avoided.
(HHS, n. d.)

(Cyracom, n. d.)
 UT PROTOCOL FOR
LANGUAGE BARRIERS
Protocol for all patients: "Interpreter Services for Non-English-
Speaking Patients" (See next slide)

If patients refuse interpreter services, pt. must sign

"Interpretative Services: Release from Liability" consent form
and be released from the hospital. (Consent form is listed
later in this presentation)

University of Tennessee Medical Center (n. d.)

University of Tennessee Medical Center (n. d.)
University of Tennessee Medical Center (n. d.)
 Group Discussion #1:
How Can We Measure How Well UT
Medical Center is Meeting The CLAS
Standard?
-By using the C-Cat Crosswalk

-The Communication Climate Assessment Toolkit (C-CAT™) contains a set

of validated organizational performance metrics to verify that your
hospital or clinic is meeting the communication needs of diverse patient
populations and provide structured guidance on how to improve.

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Center for Bioethics & Humanities (2013)
 Patient: Did the hospital’s interpreters understand everything you said?

Cross Walk -"I think so"

Evaluation at Patient: Who usually interprets for you at the hospital?

-"The phone or my husband"

UT Medical Staff: Overall, how would you rate the hospital’s interpretation services?
-I believe UT Medical's interpretation services are better than a
Center previous hospital that I worked at. We have access to Cyracom, a phone
interpretation service that easy to locate and use.

Staff: Do you agree that a patient’s family member or friend can usually
interpret as effectively as a trained medical interpreter?
-No I do not believe that to be true.

Policy: Are employees who wish to communicate with patients in a

language other than English trained and tested?
-Yes

Policy: Does the hospital track how often interpretation is done by

untrained interpreters, such as staff members or patients’ family or
friends?
The University of Colorado Anschutz
-Not to my knowledge Medical Campus Center for Bioethics &
Humanities (2013)
What is UT Medical Center Doing Well to Meet
This Standard:
-UT Medical Center encourages the use of language services to all
individuals that might have a language barrier

-Cyracom is offered for all patients that might have a language barrier

-Interpreters are also available as needed

University of Tennessee Medical Center (n. d.)

 Gaps Found During Evaluation:
-Inconsistent use of Cyracom

-Individuals using Google App to translate during patient

interaction

-Individuals using friends or family for translation

 Discussion #2:
What Could UT Medical Center Do To
Increase Compliance and Further Meet
The Standard?

Suggestions For Meeting The Standard:

-Improved education on how to use Cyracom
-Encourage a moto, "Every time on every patient"
-Audit the consistency of staff using Cyracom
References
Cyracom. (n. d.). How interpretation should be. Retrieved from http://interpret.cyracom.com/
HHS. (n. d.). National standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) in health and
health care. Retrieved from https://thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/assets/pdfs/EnhancedNationalCLASS
tandards.pdf
King University. (n. d.). King university school of nursing NURS 5010: Guidelines for cultural competency
exploration presentation. Retrieved from https://king.instructure.com/courses/3336/pages/cu
ltural-competency-exploration?module_item_id=181423
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Center for Bioethics & Humanities (2013). National
standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) in health and health care to the
communication climate assessment toolkit. Retrieved from https://king.instructure.com/courses/3336/
files/495158?module_item_id=181415
University of Tennesee Medical Center. (n. d.). Policy & procedure management. Retrieved from https://utm
ck.policytech.com/