CLAS in Public Health Organizations

CLAS in Public Health Organizations

The organizations to be used in this case are; Southern California Association for Healthcare Development and California Healthcare Foundation. These two organizations mainly use English to communicate. This becomes a problem when they have to attend to non-English speakers in the area. The cases are rare but when they occur, the challenge is real. The organizations also have a culture that is more inclined to the American way of life. They gradually have to recognize their short comings in terms of meeting the cultural and linguistic standards that will be all inclusive for people regardless of their race or ethnicity and even level of education. The websites to this organizations are sparingly detailed meaning that a person outside of California will find it hard to get information remotely. A new resident of California will have to personally walk up to the offices of these organizations in order to find out more about the operations and the services offered. It is important to also note that the population in California has a challenge in representation in these organizations. The Latino population is not represented proportionately in these organizations yet they make up a good chunk of the population in the region. The cultural and linguistic standards are supposed to create equity in the provision of health care in a region. In the case of California, the region is required to meet the cultural and linguistic standards so that they can create their services to suit their clients. The clients need not feel that they are different or singled put, inclusivity in health care is very important. The ability by the organizations to run operations that will not discriminate against people from a certain race or social class is key in health care. The quality of care must be uniform for people of all kinds.

These organizations are have taken steps to comply with the CLAS regulations by ensuring that the disparities in the presentation of the population are made non-issues by offering good health services for all indiscriminately. The leadership in Southern California Association for Healthcare Development and California Healthcare Foundation need to show better inclusivity and equality in their services (SCAHRM, 2010). This will ensure that people do not fail to access health care and blame it on organizations for failing to respond to their needs in a timely fashion. The organizations have yet to take steps to become more culturally competent organizations. In due course; the management should take the initiative of making the employees culturally aware of issues like treating people equally without being aware that they may feel uncomfortable for being differently colored or abled. Cultural competence will teach the employees about how to treat their clients fairly while showing them that they recognize their uniqueness but that does not reduce the efficiency with which they are treated. This will carry one Jane Elliott’s exercise. It will show people that being different should be celebrated rather than being used to demean others. The organizations will need to carry out regular training for their employees to ensure that they keep up with the CLAS and cultural competence of the organizations.

Both the organizations are culturally blink in the cultural competence continuum. The members of staff treat their clients as they see fit without taking into consideration that the clients may be feeling discriminated for being different even when it is done intentionally. The California Healthcare Foundation management and stakeholders have not put together an elaborate plan to create a culturally competent environment (California Healthcare Foundation, 2018). They need to create a sensitization campaign to enhance embracing diversity. It is important for people to in these organizations to spread goodwill to the society through quality health and medical care (Hanley, n.d.).

Cultural and linguistic standards in an organization is set to create a culturally competent environment for offering services. It is a strong base for creating an organization that operates on the policy of non-discrimination. It helps the community as well as the people working in the public health sector. The two organizations have yet to deal with cultural competence because there are no systems in place to implement and follow up the policies that prevent people from being discriminated. There should be a way in which the clients of these organizations can give feedback after being attended to. The objective of public health is much better when the CLAS implementation is done correctly. There are challenges that can be faced during the implementation. The biggest challenge is dealing with discrimination because it is a deeply rooted trait in the personality of an individual. The Elliott’s exercise is likely to help deal with these challenge. It will help change the spirit of racism and ethnicity up to a certain level. The other challenge would be funding for such exercises because these organizations are non-profit organizations. At the end of this exercise, there is need for evaluation to establish the success of this campaign. The benefits of this exercise in an attempt to achieve the cultural and linguistic standards is that more people will be willing to participate in pubic healthcare work in California. It would also help the organization get more funding and support from well-wishers across the board.

In conclusion, there is no harm in getting the organizations to implement the cultural and linguistic standards in their operations. It is set to create a better society for all the parties involved. The being a culturally competent organization in during these times is important because people are more conscious about equality and fairness. It is also one qualification for advanced civilization in the Californian society.

References

California Healthcare Foundation. (2018). California Healthacer Foundation. Retrieved from www.chcf.org/

Hanley, J. H. (n.d.). Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg: Five Stages Toward Cultural Competence. Retrieved from The International Child and Youth Care Netwrok: www.cyc-net.org/refernce/refs-culturalcompetence.html

Peters, W., & Cobb, C. (1985`, March 26). A Class Divided. Retrieved from A Class Divided: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/script.html

SCAHRM. (2010). Southern California Association for Health and Risk Management. Retrieved from www.scarhm.org/