Current News and Events
Joint Commission & HHS Team Up on Language Access Front
New video urges health care organizations to break language access barriers. The educational video highlights what is required by Joint Commission accreditation standards as well as Federal civil rights laws with respect to patients who are limited English proficient or deaf/hard of hearing.
California Healthline Update
Medical schools launch new curricula to prepare students
California SB 853: Health Care Language Assistance Act
The first of its kind in the country, this bill holds health plans accountable for the provision of language services – requiring health plans and health insurers to provide their enrollees with interpreter services, translated materials, and to collect data on race, ethnicity, and language to address health inequities.
For more information, please see the resources on this bill.
IOM Recommends More Detailed Categories for Race, Ethnicity and English-Language Proficiency Data
Information Collected on Patients’ Race, Ethnicity and Language Proficiency Should Be Standardized and More Detailed. Read the report.
NCQA'a Multicultural Health Care: A Quality Improvement Guide
The guide, developed by NCQA in collaboration with Lilly USA, LLC, serves as a resource for those wanting to undertake quality improvement initiatives to improve culturally and linguistically appropriate services and to reduce disparities in care.
Upcoming Conferences:
Third National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health: A Blueprint for Change.
February 25-27, 2009
The 2009 Summit is a continuation of the HHS Office of Minority Health’s efforts to develop a national strategy and to move toward common language, from health disparities to health equity. Results of the Summit will become part of the National Blueprint for Action, which will guide OMH and its public and private partners. More information
20th National Conference on Chronic Disease Prevention and Control: Cultivating Healthy Communities. February 23-25, 2009
Conference presenters will share relevant information on innovations in science, policy, community interventions, health marketing, and information technology that support healthy lifestyles and cultivate healthy communities. More information
Our World, Our Community: Building Bridges for Health Equality.2:00-3:30pm EST, February 27, 2009
Part of the 30th Annual Minority Health Conference at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Barbara Walker will be the keynote speaker for this free broadcast. Broadcast over c-band satellite and Internet (webcast), with live questions from the viewing audience. More information
Breaking the Cycle: Investigating the intersection of health disparities and educational disparities. June 9, 2009
Part of the 15th Annual Summer Public Health Research Institute and Videoconference on Minority Health, this topic will be the focus for this free broadcast.Broadcast over c-band satellite and Internet (webcast), with live questions from the viewing audience. More information
Minority Affairs Committee Workshop. September 12, 2009
Free workshop held before the annual meeting of the American College of Epidemiology. The theme for the annual meeting is: “Novel Methods at the Intersection of Epidemiology and Policy-Making.” More information
Abstract Submission Deadline - May 15, 2009
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. November 7-11, 2009
The APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world. The 2009 theme will be “Water and Public Health.”
More information
Abstract Submission Deadlines - Feb 9-13, 2009
