The Medical Leadership Council on Cultural Proficiency (MLC) Web site - www.medicalleadership.org - has been designed to allow easy access to information for participating organizations, their members, and other health care professionals.

On the site you will find:

• Resource Center: Language Access Database, MLC presentations, and links
• News and Information: MLC reports, meeting summaries, and an events calendar
• Educational Tools: CME courses, tools, and patient education materials
• About the MLC: Member organizations, participation agreements, and policies

The Language Access Database is a county-by-county database providing information on interpretation and translation services. The database is updated regularly, and listings may be sent to CAFP for inclusion.

The Language Access Database includes information on:

• Interpretation Resources by Phone, VMI or On-site
• Language Lines
• Community Resources
• Interpretation Equipment
• Training for physicians and staff members
• Web sites in languages other than English

Physician Toolkit Now Available

In this toolkit, we have taken a practical and comprehensive look at how physicians can make their practices more accessible to limited-English proficient (LEP) patients. Resources include model policies and procedures, information about assessing staff and physician language skills, and much more.

CAFP has also developed a companion continuing medical education curriculum to teach physician/staff teams about improving language access in their offices. For more information about the curriculum, or our training schedule for 2005, e-mail Shelly Rodrigues, CAE, at srodrigues@familydocs.org.

The California Endowment's Medical Leadership Council on Cultural Proficiency is comprised of 28 physician and health care organizations across the state that are interested in improving the provision of interpreter and translation services to limited LEP patients. The Council, which is one component of The Endowment’s four-pronged strategy to promote language access in health settings, will meet twice-annually to discuss strategies to increase the quality of care for LEP patients, and to explore policy options to promote the funding and provision of health care interpretation services.

Public Policy Principles for Language Access and Interpreter Services in California

For more information on the Council, contact Susan Hogeland at shogeland@familydocs.org.

Download the MLC Summary Report.
(PDF, 55 pages, 307KB)

What's New:

Meeting Summary

MLC Charter

MLC Participation Agreement

Straight Talk: Model Hospital Policies & Procedures on Language Access (PDF, 72 pp, 1 MB)

Related Commonwealth Fund publications:

Providing Language Interpretation Services in Health Care Settings: Examples from the Field, Mara Youdelman and Jane Perkins, May 2002
» more

Cultural Competence in Health Care: Emerging Frameworks and Practical Approaches, Joseph R. Betancourt, Alexander R. Green, and J. Emilio Carrillo, October 2002
» more

A State Policy Agenda to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, John E. McDonough, Brian K. Gibbs, and Janet L. Scott-Harris et al., June 2004
» more

Four New Papers on Medicare's Role in Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care
» more