metta health center program - aapcho€¦ · center (mhc) program in 2000 to provide culturally and...
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LowellCommunityHealthCenter(LCHC)isaHealthResourcesandServices
Administration-fundedhealthcenterlocatedinLowell,Massachusetts.
Establishedin1970,LCHCprovidesmultilingualandculturallyappropriate
servicestothemedicallyunderservedcommunitiesingreaterLowell.Over90
percentofpatientsarelowincome,morethantwo-thirdsareracialandethnic
minorities,andnearlyhalfofallpatientsarebestservedinalanguageother
thanEnglish.Tomeetthemulti-culturalneedsoftheirpatients,thehealth
centeremploysbilingualproviders;approximately60percentofstaffare
bilingual,providingservicesin25differentlanguages.Theselanguagesinclude
Khmer,Laotian,Spanish,Portuguese,Vietnamese,French,Mandarin,Hindi,
andSwahiliamongothers.ThehealthcenterhasbeenrecognizedbytheOfficeofMinorityHealthasan
exemplarproviderofculturallycompetentcare;meetingandexceedingallthestandardssetforthinthe
NationalStandardsforCulturallyandLinguisticallyAppropriateServicesinHealthCare.LCHC’smissionis“to
providecaring,qualityandculturallycompetenthealthservicestothepeopleofGreaterLowell,regardlessof
theirfinancialstatus;toreducehealthdisparitiesandenhancethehealthofthegreaterLowellcommunity;and
toempowereachindividualtomaximizetheiroverallwellbeing.”
METTA HEALTH CENTER PROGRAM
UnitedStatesCensusdataindicatethatLowellishometothesecondlargestCambodianpopulation(about
25,000residents)inthecountry,afterLongBeach,California.1LastCensusestimatesindicatethatthereare
about105,000residentsinLowellwithresidentsofSoutheastAsiandescentcomprisingroughlyone-thirdofthe
area’spopulation.Recognizingthelanguageandculturalbarrierstoaccessinghealthcareservicesforthe
1 UnitedStatesCensusBureau/AmericanFactFinder.http://factfinder2.census.gov
Promising Practices Report: Community Outreach & Education Efforts of the Metta Health Center program within Lowell Community Health Center
PROMISING
PRACTICES
REPORT
2017
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CambodianandotherSoutheastAsianresidents,LowellCommunityHealthCenterestablishedtheMettaHealth
Center(MHC)programin2000toprovideculturallyandlinguisticallyappropriatecare.Mettameansloving,
kindness,andcompassioninPali,aBuddhistlanguage.PriortothecreationoftheMettaHealthCenter,there
were300SoutheastAsianPatientsreceivingcareatLCHC,andtodaythereareabout10,000patientsseenat
MHC.Asoneofthenation’sfewfullyintegratedEastMeetsWesthealthcenter,MHCprovidesprimarycare,
mentalhealthcareandAlternativemedicineservicessuchasacupuncture,meditation,massagetherapyand
traditionalhealingconsultation.Theseservicesaddresspatients’mental,spiritual,andphysicalhealththrough
EasternandWesterntreatmenttraditions.Today,theMHCprogramservesCambodians,Laotian,and
VietnamesepatientsaswellasandotherpopulationsnewlyarrivinginLowellincludingBurmese,Iraqis,
Bhutanese,Congolese,Somalian,Syrianandothers.
IN-LANGUAGE COMMUNITY OUTREACH & EDUCATION
CommunityoutreachandeducationhavebeenkeyactivitiesoftheMettaHealthCenterprogramsinceits
inceptionandareimportantcontributorstoitssuccess.Cambodiancommunitymembersexperiencedmultiple
barrierstocare;theyhadahistoryoftraumaandtorture,fearandlimitedunderstandingofwesternmedicine,
differentbeliefsaboutdiseasecausesandprevention,feltdiscomfortinwesternsettingsandnavigatingthe
complexhealthcaresystemaswellaslanguageandtransportationbarriers.Compoundingthesebarrierswere
healthcareproviders’inexperienceofCambodianhealthbeliefsandculturalpractices.Asaresult,MHCstaff,
membersoftheCambodiancommunitythemselves,developedandimplementedmulti-pathwayoutreachand
educationmodelstoovercomethebarriersandbringthecommunityintocare.Someoutreachactivities
included:visitingtemplestoinformthecommunitymembersofavailableservicesandprovidehealtheducation
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resources;speakingwithtrustedcommunitymemberssuchaseldersandBuddhistmonksabouttheimportance
ofutilizinghealthcareservices;partneringwithotherCambodianorganizationssuchastheCambodianMutual
AssistanceAssociationandlocalethnicmedia;sponsoringcommunityevents;connectingimmediatelywith
newlyarrivingrefugees.Staffalsoprovidededucationtootherhealthcareandsocialserviceproviders,
researchers,localpharmacistsaboutCambodianculture,healthcarebeliefsandhealthcareneeds.
Amongthemostsuccessfuloutreachandeducationstrategieswerethedevelopmentandproductionofa
weeklyTVshowandradiosegments.MHC’sassessmentofthecommunityhadnotonlyrevealedlimitedEnglish
proficiencybutalsolimitedliteracyinKhmer.Takingintoaccounttheliteracylevelaswellascommunity
feedbackontheirethnicmediaconsumptionpatterns,staffplannedamediastrategytosupplementin-person
outreach.Theweeklyradiosegmentisa15-minutebroadcastonSundaysthroughtheVoicesofCambodian
Childrenprogram.TheVoicesprogram’smissionistoeducateandpreservetherichCambodianheritage,
culture,traditionandartsthroughtheprocessofdemocraticeducation.Itwascreatedtoservetheneedsfor
informationtofellowCambodianslocallyaswellasinternationally.Healthcenterstaffprovidesinformationon
differenthealthtopicsandsharestrategiesforhealthyliving.
Amorecomprehensiveoutreachandeducationalprogramistheweeklycablenewsshow,calledJivitThmeyor
“NewLife”inCambodian.Itisairedonthelocalcommunityaccesstelevisionstation.Designed,hostedand
producedbyMHCstaff,theshowprovidesacombinationoflocalnews,healtheducationandsocialissuesof
importancetothecommunity.Theshowispresentedin-languageandasimultaneoustranslatorpresentfor
invitedguestswhodonotspeakCambodian.Topicscanrangefromchronicdiseasestotipsforsurvivingthe
NewEnglandwinterandthemeaningandtraditionofChristmaslights.Examplesofhealthrelatedtopicsinclude
diabetes,diabetesself-management,depressionandposttraumaticstressdisorder(PTSD).Todate,therehave
560episodesofJivitThmey.
Picturedabove:(L)SonithPeou,DirectorofMettaHealthCenterspeakingonaradioprogram.(R)Sidney
Liang,DirectorofMassinMotion-CivicEngagementforLowellCommunityHealthCenteronJivitThmey.
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MHCstaffcreditthesemediabasedoutreachandeducationactivitieswithdramaticallyboostingvisitstothe
healthcenter.Theysaw4,000inthefirst5yearsoftheprogramandMHCcurrentlyservesabout10,000
patients.PatientscontinuallythankstaffforprovidinginformationonTVandsharelinkstoepisodestofamilies
backinCambodia.Asidefromincreasedsatisfaction,self-managementgoalsettinghaveincreasedforpatients
withdepressionanddiabetes.AndthosewithdepressionandPTSDhaveseenimprovement.However,itis
difficulttoattributetheseoutcomesdirectlyandsolelytheradioandTVprogramminginterventions.Adequate
fundingforthesecriticalservicesisanissuesincetheyarenotre-imburseable;currentsupportcomesfroma
patchworkofgrantsfrommultiplefundingsources.Stafftimededicatedfortheseactivitiesareusuallyin-kind;
staffcanspend16hoursormoreon1episodeofJivitThmey:2hoursfortaping,4-6hoursforpostproduction,
and8ormorehoursonresearch,translationandreporting.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAM INFORMATION PleasecontactSidneyLiangatLowellCommunityHealthCenterforinformationonthedevelopmentof
culturallytailoredhealtheducationthroughtheuseofradioandpublicaccessTVprogramming.
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For more information please contact: TUYEN TRAN, [email protected]
This project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) under cooperative agreement number U30CS09735, National Training and Technical Assistance
Cooperative Agreements for $450,000.00 with 0% of the total NCA project financed with non-federal sources. This information or
content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any
endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.
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