West Michigan and Detroit Hospitals Collaborate to Improve Language Services

Allegan General Hospital, from the West Michigan AF4Q Alliance, thought they had the needed information built into their registration system to collect Race/Ethnicity/Language (R/E/L) data but in collaborating with St. Mary's Health Care in Grand Rapids (another Improving Language Services hospital) learned they were missing some components of the process. The collaboration has expanded to include Mercy Health Partners and a hospital from the Detroit AF4Q Alliance; St. Josephs Mercy Oakland that participated in a previous RWJF funded Language Quality Improvement Collaborative. Representatives from these four hospitals meet regularly to compare and contrast programs and to share efforts on topics such as interpreter reporting structure, language services policy, job descriptions, job titles and compensation, and changes to the electronic medical record.