St. Clare Medical Center
Towson, Md.

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St. Joseph Medical Center, in Towson, Md., has for more than a decade had an outreach program — St. Clare Medical Outreach — for people who have no form of health insurance— no Medicare, no Medicaid, no private health insurance. This outreach service serves a population that is over 80 percent Hispanic.

The program bridges a gap in access to care and health education through addressing literacy and language barriers. Those who work in this outreach program have developed English/Spanish resources for the patients, and through a grant, hired a Spanish speaking diabetes educator. Too, the program serves patients who are diabetic but unable to read either Spanish or English. To help these individuals, program associates have developed innovative ways to help these patients remember the instructions for dealing with their diabetes when they leave the office, but are unable to refer to a guide or instructions when at home.