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Multilingual Hospice and Palliative Care Services

multilingual hospice

Unique Hospice provides a diverse multilingual staff fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, and Tagalog.

The United States is increasingly diverse, with an ever-growing number of cultural influences shaping nearly every aspect of the way we live. Diversity is also redefining how we approach hospice and end-of-life care.

To provide the best care possible, a hospice team needs to be able to appreciate and respect the traditions and views of patients and family members. They must also be able to communicate with patients and family members. Bilingual staff members who can provide multilingual hospice care can make their patients feel comfortable and understood.

Cultural Diversity in Hospice Care

Everyone deserves end-of-life comfort and compassionate hospice and palliative care bring. Yet, race and ethnicity continue to be one of the biggest barriers to this type of care. This can be exhibited through the recognition of cultural diversity in palliative care and hospice.

In fact, a U.S. Census Bureau report from June 2020 shows that the national Asian population increased by 29 percent between 2010 to 2019 with the Hispanic population up by 20 percent, the Black or African American population growing by 11.6 percent, and the White population increasing by 4.3. Yet, more than 80 percent of Medicare patients who used hospice in 2018 were Caucasian – African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Hispanic patients combined making up the remaining 20 percent. Fortunately, that is changing, as the National Hospice and Palliative Organization (NHPCO) shows an increasing number of people of color are accessing hospice care.

Clearly, cultural diversity in hospice care is increasingly important for patients and families receiving these services.

Benefits of Multilingual Hospice and Palliative Care

Multilingual hospice and palliative care can improve the quality of care and make patients feel more comfortable. Admittance into hospice or palliative care can be an overwhelming experience that leaves patients and family members feeling vulnerable and anxious, especially when language barriers prevent them from communicating their concerns. Multilingual nursing staff members can ease apprehensions by communicating with patients in their native language.

Multilingual palliative care and hospice care can help in other ways too. Doctors and nurses who speak the patient’s native language can collect more detailed and accurate information about the patient’s symptoms, concerns, needs, and expectations. The staff can also share important medical information with family members in their native language, which helps reduce any anxiety they may feel associated with the hospice care process.

Multilingual Hospice and Palliative Care Staff at Unique Hospice

Unique Hospice provides multilingual hospice and palliative care. Our diverse staff speaks a variety of languages, including Spanish and Chinese, to provide high-quality care.

Diversity in hospice with Unique Hospice starts with an interdisciplinary team of nurses, home health aides, physicians, chaplains, social workers, admissions personnel, and representatives who come from a wide variety of backgrounds to provide culturally sensitive care for minority groups.

For more information about multilingual hospice and palliative care services, consult with the caring hospice team at Unique Hospice.