Fall 1999 OCR UPdate - 10
(continued from page 9 - Promising Practices) the resident population of LEP persons, present a formidable communications challenge to the health care system. Recently, Tom Perez and Michael Carter (Regional Manager of OCR's Region II office) visited Gouverneur Hospital, where the Health and Hospitals Corporation, in conjunction with the New York Task Force on Immigrant Health, is testing the Technology Enhanced Medical Interpretation System (TEMIS). TEMIS is a state of the art medical interpretation system designed to increase access to quality health care for non-English-speaking populations. It combines well-trained, culturally competent interpreters with state of the art technology. The provider and patient communicate using wireless remote headsets, while the interpreter, in a separate room, provides simultaneous interpretation services to providers and patients.
In theory, the interpreters could serve technologically equipped providers throughout the city (and elsewhere), although the current pilot program is limited to certain departments of Gouverneur Hospital. The program currently provides Spanish and Cantonese interpretation services. The major barrier to further expansion is a lack of resources.
While there is certainly room for improvement and growth, initial feedback from both patients and providers has been quite favorable. OCR has agreed to offer assistance in an effort to enhance the effectiveness of the program.
OCR teams nationwide are providing civil rights training to over 2,500 Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) employees who have responsibilities for the Medicaid, Medicare and Children's Health Insurance Programs. This training focuses on several civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination against individuals who may be denied access to, participation in, or the benefits of programs that receive federal financial assistance. Our Philadelphia
Regional Office developed the training model which is being used by OCR regions to train HCFA employees.
In his June 2 letter, Mr. Ramon Suris Fernandez, director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights at HCFA, Baltimore, thanked OCR for our ongoing efforts. According to Mr. Fernandez, "This training benefits our employees since promoting attention to and ensuring HCFA program compliance with civil rights laws are among the highest priorities for HCFA....Kudos to your highly capable staff and I look forward to expanding and continuing what has proven to be a foundation for a mutually beneficial working partnership."
OCR is committed to providing civil rights technical assistance to HHS employees, as well as to recipients and beneficiaries. It's our job, and we are pleased to do it!
OCR is proud to announce the appointment of Ms. Sheila M. Foran to our Washington headquarters office. Sheila, a trial attorney in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, from 1992 - 1999, began work as Special Counsel to the Director in July. Before working at DOJ, Sheila was a litigator for several years at a large law firm in Washington, D.C., and clerked for Judge Julia Cooper Mack of the D.C. Court of Appeals. She obtained her J.D. in 1986 from the University of Michigan. Sheila is a seasoned attorney with a wealth of experience enforcing disability rights laws. She will play a critical role in OCR's disability enforcement efforts, as well as in a number of additional enforcement areas.
Congratulations to Mr. Michael (Mike) Carter and Mr. Ira Pollack for their recent promotions to the positions of OCR Regional Manager in New York and San Francisco, respectively.
Best wishes to Margaret Cordova, an Equal Opportunity Specialist in Region VIII, who is taking a leave of absence to begin law school at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder.
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