Running head: CULTURAL COMPETENCE 1

Identifying an Organization’s Cultural Competence

Jacqueline Butsavage

Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences

CULTURAL COMPETENCE 2

Identifying an Organization’s Cultural Competence

Cultural competence is the strategy for reducing inequalities between racial and ethical

health disparities throughout a healthcare organization. Providing healthcare to individuals in

need is a requirement to a society or community, regardless of racial or ethnic disparities. Every

person regardless of age, race, and ethnicity is entitled to receive care they need. It is important

for healthcare organizations to be culturally competent. Lehigh Valley Health Network is the

healthcare organization that will be assessed. Lehigh Valley Health Network is one of the largest

academic healthcare organizations in Lehigh Valley, and is the reason why it was selected.

Lehigh Valley Health Network does use culturally and linguistically appropriate services

(CLAS) standards and further explanation will be provided. An organizational culture report

card was developed about Lehigh Valley Health Network. There were five cultural competent

elements chosen for the report card, using the criteria, grading will be completed and discussed

as well as the reason the grade was given. Further recommendations for improvements will be

provided and justification of these improvements will be explained.

Healthcare organizations need to be culturally competent to be able to treat any patients

that come to their facility for treatment. Cultural competence began with the legislation against

discrimination and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Conway-Klaassen & Maness, 2017). The

United States population has a changing and evolving demographics, different cultures and

ethnicities, rapid increases Hispanic and Asian American, consist population of African-

American, and decline in White population (Conway-Klaassen & Maness, 2017). Our growing

diverse population is concerning, treating patients that can have language barriers, various belief

systems, and differences in conceptualization, and operationalization of healthcare related

CULTURAL COMPETENCE 3

concepts (Cope, 2015). It is essential that the healthcare practitioners will be able to learn and

adapt in order to treat the needs of the patients, families, colleagues, and beyond. Cultural

competence training and education can improve knowledge, awareness, and understanding about

different races, cultures, and ethnic groups in order to treat the community’s population (Cope,

2015). Cultural competence enhancement is an ongoing process identifying cultural values,

beliefs, and traditions.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is a healthcare organization that will be assessed. Lehigh

Valley Health Network (LVHN) continually attains their goals to go the extra mile and

fulfill their mission “to heal, comfort and care for the people of our community” (Lehigh Valley

Health Network, 2017). LVHN has three hospitals in the Lehigh Valley, Lehigh Valley Hospital

Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Hospital 17th Street, and Lehigh Valley Hospital Muhlenberg. The

organization employees are more than 17,000 people, throughout three hospitals in the Lehigh

Valley in addition to multiple clinics within the healthcare network. The hospital’s slogan is “A

Passion for Better Medicine”  reflecting a legacy of individualizing care for each patient and

family centered care (LVHN, 2017).

Lehigh Valley Health Network is one of the largest academic healthcare organizations in

Lehigh Valley, and that is why it was selected. LVHN’s mission statement is: “We heal,

comfort, and care for the people of our community by providing advanced and compassionate

health care of superior quality and value supported by education and clinical research” (LVHN,

2017). LVHN healthcare facilities have changed and adapted to the evolving demographics of

our growing diverse population to treat patients that can have language barriers, various belief

systems, traditions, and perceptions of illness and treatment.

CULTURAL COMPETENCE 4

Lehigh Valley Health Network does use culturally and linguistically appropriate services

(CLAS) following the standard guidelines and explanation is provided. LVHN employs a

Diversity Cultural Awareness Liaison that leads and can be contacted in assisting to meet the

needs of a diverse population that receives care throughout the healthcare system (LVHN, 2017).

The foundation of culturally competent services exists, some examples are multilingual

interpreters and when interpreters are not available, they use interpreter services via

teleconferencing interaction, telephonic interpreter services, and multilingual educational

materials (LVHN, 2017). The journey begins with patients and their family speaking with

community representatives about their individual healthcare and medical encounters, believing

that healthcare providers and hospital staff could be more attentive to their individual needs by

understanding their cultural backgrounds and preferred heritage language (LVHN, 2017). This

cultural competency transformation was integrated within the healthcare network, by providing

patient and family centered care initiatives. LVHN has Cultural Awareness Leadership Council,

interpreter services, quality improvement, regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, and

annual educational programs that every employee has to complete.

An organizational culture report card has been developed about Lehigh Valley Health

Network. There are five cultural competent elements chosen for the report card. The first

element was administration and governance, responsible for assuring organizational cultural

competence; LVHN grade was A, or all criteria were met (Purnell, Davidhizar, Giger, Strickland,

Fishman, & Allison, 2011). The second element was orientation and education, the healthcare

organization has a responsibility to orient all employees and continue educating every employee

assuring that all staff members are culturally sensitive and competent; LVHN grade was A, or all

criteria were met (Purnell, et al., 2011). The third element was to provide language; language is
CULTURAL COMPETENCE 5

the largest barrier in healthcare to provide quality healthcare; LVHN grade was A, or all criteria

were met (Purnell, et al., 2011). The fourth element was provide executive support and

accountability, ensure policy align with cultural competence standards, guidelines, and

accountable strategies for multicultural community; LVHN grade was A, or all criteria were met

(Delphin-Rittmon, Andres-Hyman, Flanagan, & Davidson, 2013). The fifth element was foster

patient, community, and key stakeholders participation, and partnerships, by promoting

stakeholders participation and partnerships on advisory groups, workshops, and committees, hire

staff that are multicultural, and develop community associations and affiliations; LVHN grade

was A, or all criteria was met (Delphin-Rittmon, et al., 2013). The sixth element was ensuring

linguistic competence, by having readily available signs and information in multilingual

interventions for patients and their family; LVHN grade was A, or all criteria were met (Delphin-

Rittmon, et al., 2013). Utilizing this culturally competent criterion, grading was completed and

the reason for the grade was discussed on the report card to follow; LVHN grade was A, or all

criteria were met per the standard needs to fulfill the requirements of cultural competence for this

community.

Recommendations for improvements were provided and detailed justifications of these

improvements were explained on the uniquely designed report card. As the community’s

demographics are changing, healthcare organizations need to adapt to these changes, which

include: ethnic diversity, patients’ education levels, and cultural competence. Healthcare

disparities need to be managed in regards to social, environmental, and economic determinants

of healthcare, promoting well-being while providing a multifaceted vision of culturally

competent healthcare (Plough, 2015). Healthcare organizations prioritize building a shared value

of health and well being for a community’s population, while engaging the community to
CULTURAL COMPETENCE 6

improve the populations health without bias or discrimination based on the patients own values,

traditions, and perceptions of healthcare (Plough, 2015). Even though the criterion was met for

establishing strategic goals, objectives, and the implementation of culturally competent provision

of care, there are always further recommendations and improvements that can be utilized to

improve a community’s healthcare experience.

A healthcare organization’s essentials are meeting the needs of their population within

their community by having the knowledge of cultural competence. Cultural competence is

achieved by promoting optimal health and well-being for a community’s population, so that no

one is excluded and everyone is represented by interpreting their beliefs, ethnicity, and language

while reducing healthcare burdens. LVHN was selected and assessed for cultural competency.

The CLAS standards were discussed, explained, and represented in a created unique report card

to follow, utilizing five cultural competent elements, evaluated by two criteria, graded, and

recommendations for improvement were justified.

CULTURAL COMPETENCE 7

Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)

Information used from LVHN Intensive Care Units website

Cultural Competence
Evaluation Criteria
Elements
CULTURAL COMPETENCE
- Responsible for assuring
1) Administration organizational cultural
and Governance competence
(Purnell, et al., - Board members must
2011) reflect the ethnic diversity
of the community
(Purnell, et al., 2011)
- Healthcare organization has
a responsibility to orient all
employees
2) Orientation and - Continue educating every
Education (Purnell, employee assuring that all staff
et al., 2011) members are culturally
sensitive and competent
-Mentoring programs should
exist
(Purnell, et al., 2011)
- Literature needs to be
available in multilingual for
patients and families to
3) Language
commit to providing
(Purnell, et al.,
quality healthcare
2011)
- Interpreters and translators
resources are available
(Purnell, et al., 2011)
-Ensure policy align with
cultural competence standards
4) Executive
Support and -Guidelines and accountable
Accountability strategies for multicultural
(Delphin-Rittmon, community
et al., 2013). (Delphin-Rittmon, et al.,
2013)
-Promoting stakeholders
participation and partnerships
5) Foster Patient, on advisory groups,
Community, and workshops, and committees
Key Stakeholders
-Hire staff that are
Grade Rationales
8
- LVHN is an academic hospital
and continuously teaching and
educating all employees ensuring
cultural competence
-Board members are multicultural
and reflect the community,
A male/female and multidisciplinary
interpreters/physicians
-LVHN has multicultural logo
materials showing different
cultures, ages, and even available
in multilingual prints
(LVHN, 2017)
-Every new employee receives
cultural competence education
and every employee annually has
to complete cultural competence
education including equal
A opportunity and satisfaction
-Mentoring and preceptor
programs exist to transition new
employees including recruiting
and retaining diverse employees
(LVHN, 2017)
-Information is available
multilingual for patients and
families to understand the
information that is being taught
-Information can be provided to
patients of cultures in their
language including sign language
A -There is multiple ways to assist
patient’s in providing information
translators or interpreters in
person, via iPad translation
resources or by telephone
interpretations at all facilities in
the hospital network (LVHN,
2017)
-LVHN ensures standards are met
for cultural competence including
intercultural sensitivity
assessments of employees
-Compliance with Joint
A
Commission requirements
-LVHN continuously follows
guideline to met the requirements
of the multicultural community
that it serves at all hospital
locations including treating
patients from different countries
-LVHN is the leading academic
and teaching facility in the Lehigh
Valley maintaining cultural
diversity not only with the
patients that are treated to
employing staff that is
multicultural including board
A members
CULTURAL COMPETENCE 9

Lehigh Valley Health Network. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.lvhn.org/our_services/care_

services/intensive_and_critical_care.
CULTURAL COMPETENCE 10

References
Conway-Klaassen, J., & Maness, L. (2017). Critical conversations: Cultural
awareness, sensitivity, and competency. Clinical Laboratory Science, 30(1), 34-37.
Cope, D. G. (2015). Cultural competency in nursing research. Oncology Nursing Forum, 42(3),
305-307.
Delphin-Rittmon, M., Andres-Hyman, R., Flanagan, E., & Davidson, L. (2013). Seven essential

strategies for promoting and sustaining systemic cultural competence. Psychiatric

Quarterly, 84(1), 53-64.

Lehigh Health Valley Network. (2017). Lehigh Valley Health Network: About us: 2016

Community Health Needs Assessment Reports. Retrieved from https://www.lvhn.org/

about_us/2016_community_health_needs_assessment_for_the_lehigh_valley.

http://www.equityofcare.org/resources/resources/lvhn_case_study.pdf.

http://dx.confex.com/dx/10/webprogram/paper2618.html.

https://www.lvhn.org/our_services/care_services/intensive_and_critical_care.

Plough, A. L. (2015). Building a Culture of Health: A Critical Role for Public Health Services

and Systems Research. American Journal Of Public Health, 105(S2), S150-2. 

Purnell, L., Davidhizar, R., Giger, J., Strickland, O., Fishman, D., & Allison, D. (2011). A guide

to developing a culturally competent organization. Journal of Transcultural Nursing,

22(1), 7-14.