Cultures Honored at Hospice of Palm Beach County

Hospice of Palm Beach County’s Multicultural Outreach Committee, chaired by Supportive Care Director, Regina Di Pietro, set out this past year to better educate our staff – from clinical to administrative personnel – on the distinctions and cultural traditions of our diverse community. The committee is comprised of representatives from different departments who are committed to learning about various cultures and then disseminating this information throughout the organization for all to benefit.

"We want to offer staff educational tools and opportunities that prepare them to respond to our patients and families in the most respectful and compassionate manner possible," said Di Pietro. "To be accepted by the patient and family that you are caring for, you must have an understanding of their cultural and religious principles,” she added.

As an integral part of this program, our education department produced a comprehensive multicultural manual and self-study in-services, and made them available to all staff. In addition, they trained medical and clinical teams, as well as administrative staff, to use our Interpreter Language Line, which functions as a translation vehicle. “We went so far as to make personal contact with each employee to explain the method for using a trained interpreter via the language line. The use of this line has increased three-fold since we implemented the training this year,” said Vicki Jones, Director of Education.

“Our goal is to learn about as many cultures as possible and to create resources so our staff can interact with patients and families on all levels – from a medical level to a cultural level to comforting– and to serve them without judgment,” said Di Pietro. “This educational program can do that.”

For more information please contact Jennifer Martinez at jmartinez@hpbc.com or (561) 273-2194.