MTI Leadership Team Meeting Notes
April 18, 2006
Attendees: Kit Boesch, L/Lancaster Co. Human Services; Joan Andersen, LCMS; Malcom Miles, Region V; Susan Kash-Brown, SECC; Darcy Tromanhauser & Monica Stauffer, Nebraska Appleseed; Sharon Baker, Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska; Christine Stroud, HHSS RRP; Cecelia Creighton, People’s Health Center; Jean Krejci, LLCAD; Suzy Prenger, Planned Parenthood; and Pat Carlson, Centerstar.
The meeting was called to order by Kit Boesch. Following introductions and a great lunch, Kit noted that Jason Varga (moving offices), Helen Fagan (ill), and TJ McDowell (ill) would not be there.
Suzy Prenger reported on a presentation by Dr. Mae Jameson, an African American Woman, astronaut, and physician. She recommended everyone take advantage of an opportunity to hear her or view the TV video of her presentation.
Suzy then focused on the National Standards. Suzy said that she has sought input on: 1) What feedback did we have and do we recommend acceptance to CHE and the NATF?; 2) How do we address the issues of people who function in dual roles: (interpreter/staff; interpreter, advocate; interpreter/parent, etc.); and 3) Do we assess interpreters (how, why, who?). Discussion followed.
There was some discussion regarding whether to prioritize or divide the Standards into “mandated,” “expected,” or “best practice” standards. Consensus was not to do that as, in total, they serve as an education tool and guideline.
The Leadership Team unanimously agreed to forward the National Standards to CHE and the NATF with a recommendation to accept them as the Lincoln/Lancaster Community Standards. Suzy will draft a sample cover letter for TJ to review and send a copy of the Standards. We will encourage ongoing and professional development on the National Standards. We will also ask CHE to put together a press release on acceptance of the National Standards in our community.
There was much discussion on the dual roles of interpreters. All agreed more training opportunities need to be made available on this topic. We need to target providers who use interpreters and begin community conversations. Kit mentioned the value of offering training to HSF agencies.
All agreed the assessment of interpreters was very important. Many examples were given as to why this was needed. We agreed interpreters needed to have “cultural” training as well. Suzy will take this back to the Competency Committee for further examination.
Joan Anderson shared survey results with us. One hundred thirty-two offices were faxed surveys and approximately 80 offices responded; often with several responses from one office. Joan reviewed the results with the team. Physicians and office managers usually reported. 61% responded they did not have health information in other languages. Many of the team speculated that the 31% who did probably had Spanish materials. 70% of the offices indicate non-English speaking clients composed only 1-10% of their caseload.
One of the most disturbing responses was that 66% of medical practices use family members or friends of the family to interpret. Discussion followed. Joan said it is clear the cost becomes prohibitive if they use a private service and only 7% had bilingual staff trained in medical interpretation. 43% indicated they felt the client was educated about the issue in their native language. The group speculated that the education was probably provided by a family member. When asked if medical interpretation services were adequately used to meet the needs of the non-English speaking clients, 53% said yes and 39% said no. Much discussion was held on the barriers to communicating with non-English speaking clients. The most common barriers cited in the survey were cost (40%), lack of accessible interpreters (26%) and time (18%). The good news was at least 70% of the medical practices know that licensed medical providers in Nebraska are legally required to provide interpreter services for non-English speaking clients. Kit asked Joan if she could do a one page summary of the survey results for CHE and NATF and she agreed. Darcy suggested we could get the survey results “validated” by the National Interpreters Association to give them more creditability. Joan said the general public (for example a Leadership Lincoln Executive Series class) had very little understanding of the issues and were appalled there was no way to pay for interpreters.
Kit gave an update on the staffing report. Following receipt of applications, six telephone interviews were conducted and three finalist interviews were conducted. The review team was Helen Fagan, Suzy Prenger, Kit Boesch and TJ McDowell. We forwarded our recommendation to the CHE office. Talent+ has requested an additional interview. CHE will make a final decision by Friday, April 21. Watch your email for any announcement from CHE.
Joan asked where we were on the staffing budget. Malcom reported we have received (via HSF) $7500 from the Keno Fund. The CHE Board had allocated $20,000 leaving us $2,500 from our $30,000 goal. Joan was going to check with LCMS. The BSF Foundation might help. Hopefully we can introduce our new staff person and a full budget at our next meeting.
Malcom shared the status of the State Summit. Tentative dates are either July 13th or July 20th at Lancaster County Extension Center on Cherrycreek Road. They are seeking a facilitator for the afternoon discussion. A rough agenda includes a report on what is happening in different parts of the state (morning); a report on the National Standards (lunch); and conversation on next steps (afternoon). The target audience (max. 100) will include the six Behavioral Health Regions; from Region V–MTI Team, NATF, CHE, Office of Minority Health, NATI, etc.
The date for the next meeting is Tuesday, May 16, 12:00 p.m. at SECC—Continuing Education—301 South 68th Street