The Health Plan conducts team discussions around cultural competency

September 21, 2020

The Health Plan continues its focus on cultural competency as the deadline nears to complete the state-mandated training. More than 80 percent of employees have taken the course.

Teams have spent the past few weeks in discussion around the 15 national Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards, their personal experiences, and ways they can improve their work performance in this area.

These discussions, along with recent Cultural Competency Week activities are being managed by the newly developed Cultural Competency Committee. In the future, the committee will ensure that the organization adheres to the national standards and plays an integral role in addressing health disparities.

Provider Relations

Provider Relations Liaison Javier Valdez, who is a 32-year Texas Children’s employee, has seen our organization navigate many cultural shifts and is pleased to be part of these latest efforts.

“I feel that we do well when it comes to cultural competency, but I think we could always do better,” Valdez said. “This is exactly why I’m so glad to hear of the committee’s work.”

In his role Valdez meets the needs of culturally diverse providers who serve culturally diverse members.

“We have a very seasoned team that is close and able to discuss issues openly,” he added. “I think this is why it’s important that we have a bilingual staff that can speak many languages. This way we are able to assist our members in a language they feel the most comfortable speaking.”

Valdez added that a member’s culture is often connected to their social situation, their health and subsequently the solutions to any health care issues. This means that the more we understand a person’s culture, the more we can help them reach their health care goals.

Care Coordination

The Health Plan’s care coordination team also conducted a series of cultural competency discussions starting back in May. The discussions were led by Care Coordination Director Ashley Simms and Assistant Director Katara Butler.

Butler said the team’s conversations centered around a few key themes; including personal accountability regarding cultural biases, keeping others accountable regarding their biases and remaining open to learning more about the culture of others.

“Not only do we serve a diverse member population, but as a team we are also diverse,” Butler said. “As managers it’s important that we give our teams all the tools they need to grow personally and professionally in this area.”

All health plan leaders received talking points to help them host cultural competency conversations. These conversations will provide even more context for the state-mandated training, available in HealthStream.