Cultural Competency in Health Care Trailing Behind Nation’s Demographic Shifts

Cultural Competency in Health Care Trailing Behind Nation’s Demographic Shifts

As America’s racial and ethnic mix shifts rapidly to a majority minority nation, the need for cultural competency in health care increases. Oregon’s Democratic lawmakers get that. Unfortunately, their Republican colleagues don’t.   The Register Guard reports that a split partisan vote in the Oregon House stymied a bill that would advance the cultural understanding of minorities among social workers, physicians, and other health care professionals licensed by the state.

Now is the time to enhance cultural competency training, not stymie it.

Highlighted Clip for Monday, May 23, 2011:

"Cultural competency bill fails again"

By Saul Hubbard

For the second day in a row, a split partisan vote in the Oregon House on Thursday stymied a bill aimed at advancing the cultural understanding of minorities among the state’s licensed health care providers, in order to improve the quality of health care minorities receive.