Lutheran HealthCare named finalist for AHA's inaugural Equity of Care Award

BROOKLYN, N.Y., July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lutheran HealthCare in Brooklyn, N.Y., has been named a finalist for the American Hospital Association's (AHA) inaugural Equity of Care Award for its efforts to reduce health care disparities and promote diversity within the organization's leadership and staff.  The health system was honored July 21 at the Health Forum-AHA Leadership Summit in San Diego.

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The AHA Equity of Care Award was created to recognize outstanding efforts among hospitals and care systems to advance equity of care to all patients, and to spread lessons learned and progress toward achieving health equity.  In 2011, the AHA joined four national health care organizations to issue a call to action to eliminate health care disparities by focusing on increasing the collection of race, ethnicity and language preference data; increasing cultural competency training; and increasing diversity in governance and leadership.

"The work of these hospitals and health systems in promoting and improving equitable care is something the field can embrace and build on," said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. "They are leaders who are pushing us forward to ensure that all patients receive the highest quality of care and that hospitals reflect the communities they serve."

Lutheran HealthCare has partnered with community-based organizations, faith-based organizations and others on many efforts to reduce health care disparities for the diverse communities it serves. For example, the health system developed a successful asthma program for Latino patients who regularly used the emergency department to treat asthma.  The program focused on routine visits to monitor medication usage, and Spanish-speaking home care workers and educators went to patient homes to teach patients how to manage their asthma and home environments to decrease their asthma. The health system also has led outreach efforts that have brought education and resources to community members to engage them in primary care and preventive services, such as free hepatitis screenings and workshops on the negative effects of hookah smoking.     

Ensuring diversity in its leadership, governance and staff also is a priority for Lutheran HealthCare.  Sixty-one percent of Lutheran HealthCare's staff is bilingual, which helps the health system care for a population in which 40 percent of the patients it treats prefer not to speak English when receiving their medical care.

Cultural competency training also is a core function of Lutheran HealthCare's equity efforts.  All staff receives cultural competency training during new employee orientation. In addition, nursing and house staff and medical students receive additional training on cultural competence within their disciplinary training.  Special trainings open to all staff have been conducted on Chinese and Latino values and health beliefs, Ramadan, Latino health disparities, working with Muslim families, working with patients with disabilities, mental health, palliative care and many other topics.

The Equity of Care Award will be presented annually by the AHA.  Hospitals were required to complete an application describing their efforts to provide equitable care and had to participate in the Institute for Diversity in Health Management's most recent benchmarking survey on diversity and disparities.

About the AHA
The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which includes nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA Web site at www.aha.org.

About Lutheran HealthCare 
Lutheran HealthCare is an academic, faith-based, community health care organization committed to excellence, and it is the principal provider of health care and support services for the residents of southwest Brooklyn, N.Y. Lutheran HealthCare consists of community health providers includes Lutheran Medical Center, the Lutheran Family Health Centers, Lutheran Augustana Center for Extended Care and Rehabilitation, Community Care Organization, Inc, Health Plus, senior housing programs and more.

SOURCE American Hospital Association