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t m c » p u l s e | n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5 35 MD Anderson has long been committed to assisting patients from first contact through their treatment journey to returning home, and is equipped with technological solutions to minimize the difficulties of dealing with a language barrier. In the event an in-person interpreter is unavailable or if the hospital is unable to locate someone who is fluent in a particular language, there are various alterna- tives to assist with the communication between doctors and foreign patients. For instance, a dedicated phone line is available 24/7 in 95 different languages, and the hospital recently added iPads that connect directly to an interpreter via Skype on every hospital floor. In similar fashion, Houston Methodist Hospital manages the lan- guage barrier by bridging the cultural gap between international patients and health care providers. "The needs of the global patients are very different in that our health care environment in the U.S. is very compli- cated and it's very scary," said Summer Dajani, vice president of global patient services and business development at Houston Methodist Hospital, which serves patients from over 95 countries, including the Latin American, Middle Eastern, and northern African regions. International patients are assigned to a liaison who matches them up with physicians and maps out their medical itineraries, detailing their accommo- dations, scheduled appointments, treatment plans and expectations to help them navigate the U.S. health care system. But the liaisons don't only help them plan; Dajani said they "become like family to the patients," serving as trusted companions and interpreters to communicate in English and the patients' native languages throughout the entire process—from doctor visits to lab work, imaging appointments to surgery preparation, pharmacy visits to prayer, and so on. "We call them liaisons, but they truly are like case managers. They manage everything, not just the service only," Dajani said. "They're very knowledge- able in what they do and, by default, they create very special relationships with the hospital's systems to be able to expedite their patients." Both MD Anderson's International Center and Houston Methodist Hospital's Global Health Care Services embody the "global" aspect of each organization. Liaisons and interpreters have extensive international training— whether that be in Morocco, Saudi Arabia or Mexico—and they apply their diverse backgrounds to understand cultural nuances that underlie commu- nication, lending itself well to better patient care. However, hospitals are not the only places that deal with language barriers. In the same vein as MD Anderson's dedicated phone line, Ronald McDonald House Houston uses CyraCom, a translating company that donates its service, to make 50 different languages available to house managers and families. RMH Houston provides a "home away from home" for families with sick children and regularly sees a diverse group of people with limited English-speaking skills. Mariyah Pavlyukh, who has volun- teered at RMH Houston for the past two years, said she understands the hardship and emotional stress of deal- ing with a communication disconnect in a new country. "I remember when I first came to the United States [15 years ago], I wanted more than anything else just to hear my native language and be able to speak it," said Pavlyukh, who also helps interpret and translate documents for families from Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. "I can so much attest to that and empathize with them because I was in their shoes, except I did not have to battle these devastating illnesses. In addition, fighting these illnesses can add so much stress and burden, so I was very pleased to know that they found comfort in knowing there was someone in the house who speaks their language and can help translate." Pavlyukh said it's "been a big bless- ing" to work with global patients and families. "To endure all that, you have to have such strength, so I ask myself, 'Do I really help them, or do they help me?'" she said. "When I see them smiling and staying so positive, it really inspires me so much." Top right: Houston Methodist Global Health Care Services liaison Ghada Darwich, center, and medical referral specialist Fady Ali, right, consult with a patient about her case. Lower right: Medical referral specialist Mohammed Nassif, left, and liaison for the Arabic team Faten Ashrawi, right, discuss a patient's case. The needs of the global patients are very dif- ferent in that our health care environment in the U.S. is very complicated and it's very scary. SUMMER DAJANI Vice President of Global Patient Services and Business Development at Houston Methodist Hospital

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