Project Improves Culturally Competent Care on CWN 10

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of staff and a summer intern, Connors Center 10 updated and improved its collection of patient education materials available for Spanish-speaking patients. Gloria Lima, RN, and patient care assistant Antonia Quints teamed up with summer intern Yesica Argueta to catalogue and organize patient education resources available in Spanish and completely reorganized the unit’s storage of these materials.

“Approximately 30 percent of our patient population is Latino, and this effort over the summer has improved our culturally-competent care for our Spanish-speaking mothers and their babies,” said Cynthia Loring, RNC, MS, nurse educator on CWN 10.

Inserts added to the parent guide are now included in the state screening booklet, and the Spanish files at each nursing station have a table of contents with all materials available in four categories: medications, postpartum care, newborn care and breastfeeding.

“Gloria, Antonia and Yesica did a great job making it easier for our staff to share education information with our patients,” Loring said, adding that their own Latino heritage proved valuable for this project and in delivering care. Lima is from Peru, Quints from Bolivia and Argueta from Guatemala.

Following her internship over the summer, Argueta remained at BWH as a unit coordinator during night and weekend shifts.