Latino

When it comes to addressing health care disparities, medical office assistant Anna Jenkins thinks her unit-based team is up to the challenge. 

“I can go to my UBT members and say, ‘This is a care gap. Give me your feedback. Give me your ideas,’” says Jenkins, an OPEIU Local 30 member and labor co-lead for the Rancho San Diego Primary Care team. “Our administration listens to us. They’re very open to letting us try it our own way.” 

The Level 5 team is leveraging Labor Management Partnership principles and tools to communicate, coordinate and customize care for Latino patients with diabetes. The approach has led to better health outcomes and improved service for a group disproportionately impacted by diabetes. 

The unit-based team has increased the number of Latino patients ages 65 to 75 whose blood sugar levels are under control, according to recent clinical quality measures. 

“That partnership between management and labor is important,” says Silvia Hernandez, RN, medical office administrator and the team’s management sponsor. “This teamwork helps us to improve patient care and quality with excellent member satisfaction.” 

Adapting approaches 

Key to the team’s success is partnering with Complete Care Management, a specialized strike force that monitors the health of patients who struggle to control chronic conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. 

To better support her Latino patients, care manager Lily Thamiz, RN, has adapted her approach. She books longer appointments for Spanish-speaking patients who need interpreters, refers others to bilingual diabetes education classes, and relies on phone calls to connect with those short on time. 

“The only time we can talk is when they’re driving,” says Thamiz, a member of Specialty Care Nurses of Southern California, an affiliate of UNAC/UHCP. “These are solutions I’d never considered before.” 

UBT members tailor treatment in other ways, too. To ensure continuity of care for Latino patients in their 60s and 70s, they standardized the steps needed to download and share data from glucose monitors. Providers use the devices to track patients’ blood sugar levels and adjust their medications. By consistently managing and sharing data, staff members guarantee they do not miss crucial patient information when communicating with one another. 

“They make you feel like you really matter,” says Mary Hart, 71, a Latina patient who has diabetes. “They really show their concern for your health.”

Kaiser Permanente is inviting patients and families into the boardroom to talk turkey. There’s no sugar-coating a bad experience or making excuses for less-than-stellar service. Listening to our patients has become a core value, and patient advisory councils are one of the ways KP is bringing the patient into the conversation to improve care.

“There are over 35 advisory councils and over 400 patient advisors throughout the organization,” says Hannah King, the director of service quality for unit-based teams.

In the Northwest, as in other regions, the work being done by the councils is affecting outcomes. Within six months of the formation of the Oncology Patient Advisory Council, for example, oncology patient satisfaction scores climbed 6.5 percent. One change prompted by patient feedback was a fresh look at a procedure that sometimes is used in the course of a surgical breast biopsy. After hearing from patients about the pain they were experiencing, physicians standardized the wire localization procedure to reduce pain.

One of the newest councils in the Northwest was created to help serve the region’s growing Hispanic population. Patients on the council have been involved in a video project that will be ready to share with staff by year-end. In the video, Latino patients talk directly to KP care teams about their culture, providing insights into how to build trust and develop good provider-patient relationships.

Patients who serve on the councils are not paid to participate. “These are people who are invested in helping us succeed,” says Jonathan Bullock, program manager for Patient and Family Centered Care Programs in the Northwest.

Given the complexity of an organization as big as Kaiser Permanente, there’s been a learning curve for patients as well. At a recent council meeting in the Northwest, patients expressed frustration that a suggestion to improve signage hadn’t happened. As it turned out, their idea had been incorporated into the master plan—but there’s a schedule for updating signage, and the clinic they were familiar with wasn’t due yet for a refresh.