A Look into Global Patient Services

Lindsay Lodge
1,367 international patients visited our health centers in Northeast Ohio, including the main campus,
regional hospitals and family health centers in 2013 and 2,037 more have already visited this year.
Treating international patients takes an immense amount of planning. fe! of the many tasks include
scheduling their appointments close together to minimi"e travel time, scheduling translators and
interpreters if necessary, and educating the staff on cultural differences to make sure all parties involved
in the treatment do not feel uncomforta#le or offended #y one another. Thankfully, !e have the caring
staff at $lo#al %atient &ervices to facilitate each step of !elcoming an international patient to 'leveland.
(n addition to planning #efore the visit, $lo#al %atient &ervices also provides complimentary ne!spapers
in the patient)s home language, escorts patients to appointments, assists !ith costs and #illing, and
provides information a#out local activities for the visitors, among many other things.
Connecting with Patients
*ackie &pence, managing director at $lo#al %atient &ervices, is cele#rating her second anniversary at the
'linic this &eptem#er. &he is very proud of her staff due to the !ay they care for and connect !ith
international patients, especially #y hosting special events to make everyone feel at home. &ome of the
past events !ere cele#rating National +anguage ,ay for a full !eek, an ice cream social, a pancake
#reakfast in *ackie)s office, yoga, reiki, and most recently, a -amadan cele#ration held at the .ain
'ampus on *uly 1/.
The -amadan cele#ration !as a special event that !as attended #y roughly 270 patients. lmost the
entire $lo#al %atient &ervices !as in attendance and served food to the guests. The event !as !elcome
to any physician !ho !as cele#rating -amadan as !ell. Once everyone ate, the guests dispersed to go
pray.
The .uslim patients !ho !ere not a#le to attend the event !ere not left out of the cele#ration. .any
of the regional liaisons hand delivered fruit #askets their patients) rooms. 0.any of the patients even
cried #ecause they !ere so grateful,1 &pence said. 0(t !as 2ust a really emotional, nice event for them.1
This cele#ration is 2ust one of the !ays $lo#al %atient &ervices connects !ith patients and makes them
feel at home during their visit to 'leveland 'linic.
Working with International Patients
3orking !ith international patients comes !ith many challenges4 ho!ever the e5perience is !orth
every minute. &pence e5plained that it is difficult to try to meet each individual)s needs, as the 'linic
services patients from 132 different countries, including patients that speak 6/ different languages. (n
addition, the gro!ing patient volume and their respective cultural differences can make facilitating over
3,000 visits difficult.
3hen asked a#out the #est part of !orking !ith international patients, &pence simply replied, 0(t)s
#eautiful.1 &he added that advocating for patients !ho are no!here near home is a great feeling. ll
patients are vulnera#le4 ho!ever, international patients are the most vulnera#le as they are seeking
healthcare in a foreign place !hile trying to navigate cultural #arriers. &pence has a passion for making
each patient feel !ell7cared for during their stay, a priority she says stems from her past as a nurse.
(n addition to helping patients, &pence and the rest of the $lo#al %atient &ervices staff !ant to help
anyone at 'leveland 'linic in need of their services. 03e)re here to service the entire organi"ation, not
2ust our patients,1 &pence said. 0(n any !ay !e can possi#ly help, please reach out to us.1
Did You Know?
lmost everyone on the staff of $lo#al %atient &ervices is #ilingual, !ith only a handful not.
$lo#al %atient &ervices has #een around for 38 years
2013 !as the first year that the international patient volume increased during the month of
&eptem#er since the terrorist attacks on &eptem#er 11, 2001.
The volue o! international "atients by location#
1. .iddle 9ast
2. 'anada
3. 'ari##ean
8. &outh merica
:. 9urope

To" $ Institutes that receive the ost international "atients "er year %&'()*#
Heart and ;ascular< 330
,igestive ,isease< 132
Neurological< 6:
$lickman =rological and >idney< 72
.edicine< 88