Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR COMMUNICATING INFORMATION TO PERSONS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY Policy: It is the policy of our Agency to provide communication aids (at no cost to the person being served) to Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons, including current and prospective patients, clients, family members, interested persons, et al., to ensure them a meaningful opportunity to apply for, receive or participate in, or benefit from the services offered. The procedures outlined below will reasonably ensure that information about services, benefits, consent forms, waivers of rights, financial obligations, etc., are communicated to LEP persons in a language which they understand. Also, they will provide for an effective exchange of information between staff/employees and patients/clients and/or families while services are being provided. Procedure: 1.Our Agency will designate the Administrator to be responsible for implementing methods of effective communication with LEP persons. 2.Our Agency will maintain, and routinely update a list of all bilingual persons, organizations and staff members who are available to provide bilingual services. 3.Our Agency utilizes “Language Line Services” (LLS) as its contracting vendor for over the phone interpretation services. LLS is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Telephone #1-800-874-9426 or emergency #1-800-523-1786. They have interpretation services for over 150 languages, which cover 98% of their requests, and certified medical interpreters. This information packet, as well as specific instructions on using the service, shall be accessible to all employees at the nurses station, as well as from each department head. Step by step instructions are included. 4. In order to ensure effective communication and to protect the confidentiality of patient or resident information and privacy, the patient or resident will be informed that the services of a qualified interpreter are available to him/her at no additional charge. Only after having been so informed, the patient or resident may choose to reply on a family member or friend in a particular situation. The choice of the patient/resident and presence of an interpreter will be documented after every visit. 5.All Agency’s employees designated as Department Heads shall be trained on the procedure for obtaining services needed for LEP persons and are authorized to obtain a language interpreter to communicate both verbal and written information. Training for contact staff on communicating basic care needs with LEP individuals can be arranged by language tape, cd, or video provided by LLS. Home Health Agency Overall Plan and Budget E-15