Being fully understood by your doctor might not seem like a luxury, but advocates say there are populations that still often go unheard.
Whether that’s due to a language barrier or a physical or developmental disability, it doesn’t matter if the outcome results in miscommunication, they say.
In order to reach more patients with barriers to care in Northeast Pennsylvania, the Wright Center pulled in a $3 million federal grant to train faculty and medical residents. It’s part of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s plan to educate primary caregivers.
The grant went specifically to the center’s internal medicine program, its largest and longest-running arm, said Meaghan Ruddy, Ph.D., Wright Center’s senior vice president for wellness and resiliency, assessment and advancement. She’s also the group’s chief strategic research and development officer.
Educating physicians and improving curriculum are the top priorities, she said.
“What do you do if that individual has a physical disability that prevents them from getting an X-ray, sitting up straight on the table?” Ruddy said. “Really practical hands-on in some cases, literally tips and tricks to be able to provide the best care possible sort of regardless of the circumstance.”
The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education will use the five-year grant to train staff and residents that work in eight Northeast Pa. counties. The award, one of 18 distributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, aims to improve care for marginalized or underserved communities.
Disparities in language access can lead to negative health outcomes and higher fatality rates, according to researchers at George Washington University. And scarce interpreter resources can leave some patients without adequate care.
Patients that use Wright Center programs speak more than 22 languages, but the nonprofit wants to grow its abilities.
“You could potentially think of it as the health industry's challenge, not so much its fault,” Ruddy said.
“We really want to take care of everyone and we want to do the best we can. But if you don't have someone who speaks Hmong or Gujarati working for you, your best option potentially is to access a translation line.”
That’s a service the Wright Center has used for several years, Ruddy said. Last year, the organization started a contract with a vendor that offers even more languages, she added.
Still work to do
The Wright Center estimates that about one in six people have physical or developmental disabilities in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna and Wayne. That’s higher than the state average – just under 14% of the population – according to the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Arc of Pennsylvania, which partners with the Wright Center, offers supportive living and employment as well as recreational and community programs.
Medical barriers for those with disabilities are often issues faced by many people, including affordability, transportation and recognition of co-occurring disorders, says Roseann Polishan, lead advocate with the Arc’s NEPA chapter.
Polishan says the group pushes for policies that benefit people with disabilities across the state. She has lived experience, as her 20-year-old son has a developmental and intellectual disability.
“Sometimes the [medical] professional may kind of just talk, or ignore the individual with a disability or just talk to the parent or the guardian or the care worker that's there,” she said. “It's just important to treat the person with a disability the same as you treat any other patient, talk to them, listen to them, watch their body language, see how they're communicating and see what you can figure out from that.”
“It’s important that they get to know the person and talk to them as an individual,” Polishan said.
While community-based health comes with inherent challenges, Ruddy says, the goal is to acknowledge obstacles and better position doctors to face them.
“When you're really embedded in the community and you are committed to seeing any patient regardless of their ability to pay, regardless of how complex they are… it becomes actually impossible to turn a blind eye to the challenges,” she said.
“So we also must train the future workforce to see these things.”
