St. Elizabeth Hospital
Gonzales, La.

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In response to a significant increase in the Hispanic population in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales, La., initiated scecific measures to increase access to information and services through education and training for staff in Spanish language medical terminology. Too, the hospital contracted with a language translation service that staff can have access to all day, every day. Hospital forms, such as discharge instruction and the patient handbook, are also now provided in English as well as Spanish to better serve this patient population.

In keeping with our mission of taking care of those most in need, a community clinic to help the increasing number of uninsured and underinsured patients in the hospital's service area was opened. The clinic sees a majority of minority patients that otherwise would have limited access to primary health care. Many patients suffer from chronic illness such as hypertension and diabetes. Working with local pharmacies, St. Elizabeth's has established a prescription drug medication program to help its patients get their prescriptions at discounted prices. It is in the process of establishing a diabetic education program to teach patients to better manage their diabetes. Through this initiative, the hospital has noted a decrease in the reoccurrence of patient visits to the emergency room. These patients now use the community clinic for their primary care.