Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. DIFFERENT CULTURAL BACKGROUND/BELIEFS COMPETENCY PLAN (CCP) Our county/area of service, has a big population and high portion of them over age 65. Local and private health care institutions cover a significant sector of the those population, but a significant portion are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and government programs. Our community has a very diverse Cultural background and belief, with peoples from diverse area of the country and even of the world. MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. will provide high-quality, culturally sensitive services by identification, delivery and continual monitoring of patient’ needs. Our Agency hires bilingual staff and develops education training for all relevant staff regarding cultural and beliefs competency. Our Quality Improvement Team monitors and evaluates the level of cultural competency through all of our program and services. Our Agency developed plans and programs for improving cultural awareness, where a need is identified, through the comprehensive assessment of the Services that we provide. This will ensure that all of our field Staff develop awareness and appreciation of customs, values and belief, and the ability to incorporate them into the assessment of, treatment of, and interaction with our patients, family, and community. Our Agency encourages our Staff to share and utilize their own cultural diversity to enhance our program and the services provided to our patients/clients. An annual in-service is provided to all of our staff. WHAT IS CULTURAL COMPETENCE? Cultural Competence is the willingness and ability of a system to value the importance of culture and belief in the delivery of services to all segments of the population in our community. It is the use of a systems perspective which values differences and is responsive to diversity at all levels of an organization, i.e., policy, governance, administrative, workforce, and patient/client. Cultural Competence is developmental, community focused, and family oriented. In particular, it is the promotion of quality services to under served, racial/ethnic groups through the valuing of differences and integration of cultural attitudes, beliefs, and practices into diagnostic and treatment methods, and throughout the system to support the delivery of culturally relevant and competent care. It is also the development and continued promotion of skills and practices important in clinical practice, cross-cultural interactions, and systems practices among our staff to ensure that services are delivered in a culturally competent manner. Our Cultural Competence activities include the development of skills through training, use of self- assessment for staff and systems, and implementation of objectives to ensure that governance, administrative policies and practices, and clinical skills and practices are responsive to the culture and diversity within the populations served in our community. It is a process of continuous quality improvement. BACKGROUND In the State of Florida, measuring the health status of racial and ethnic minorities is paramount. Section 381.736, Florida Statutes, requires the Department of Health, in collaboration with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the Minority Physician Networks* (MPNs), to provide a progress report to the Florida Legislature regarding the status of the implementation of the Florida Healthy People Program. Particular attention is to be given to the health disparities among minorities and non-minorities and the impact of racial and ethnic culture on health status. Florida’s population is more racially and ethnically diverse than at any time in our state’s history. We are experiencing a significant and rapid demographic shift. As Florida continues its rapid movement towards a truly multicultural state, there are still well-documented racial and ethnic disparities in the Home Health Agency Policies A-163