VTMBH Article: Body
As the number of Korean patients rapidly increases, hospitals in Bergen County, New Jersey, are setting up hubs to provide services in Korean and secure Korean medical staff.
Because most Koreans do not have medical insurance and have trouble using hospital facilities due to the language barrier, the hospitals will develop services to accommodate them.
Teanecks Holy Name Hospital, for instance, is promoting various projects for its Korean patients, such as recruiting volunteer interpreters for patients who do not speak English fluently and hiring a greater number of Korean doctors.
Kevin McCarthy, assistant director of the Holy Name Hospital, said, The biggest problem that has been pointed out to us is the difficulties that our Korean patients experience because of the language barrier. The Korean population in the region is rapidly growing, and we will try to provide more convenient medical services for them.
David Chung, M.D., who works at Holy Name as a volunteer physician, said, I treat Korean patients who come to the Holy Name Hospital because I want to return the profits I earn from the Korean-American community. The Holy Name Hospital serves the Korean elderly who have little or no insurance, as well as retired Korean patients, and seeks to give them better health care.
Pascack Valley Hospital, in Westwood, plans to open a medical center run by Korean physicians in Closter; Englewood Hospital hiring Korean nurses and teaching the staff.
Many hospital facilities are distributing Korean-language pamphlets.
These are just a few of the steps hospital facilities are beginning to take to serve their Korean patients.
Although there are no complete translator services available for Korean patients yet, some translator services are available through the AT&T phone company, said Joseph Chung, an obstetrician who works as a clinical instructor at the Hackensack University Hospital.
We [at Englewood Hospital] provide services for Koreans and other minority patients and their families through a hospital-run language bank and telephone companies. As long as you notify your physician ahead of time, anyone can take advantage of the services, said one interpreter there.
Because most Koreans do not have medical insurance and have trouble using hospital facilities due to the language barrier, the hospitals will develop services to accommodate them.
Teanecks Holy Name Hospital, for instance, is promoting various projects for its Korean patients, such as recruiting volunteer interpreters for patients who do not speak English fluently and hiring a greater number of Korean doctors.
Kevin McCarthy, assistant director of the Holy Name Hospital, said, The biggest problem that has been pointed out to us is the difficulties that our Korean patients experience because of the language barrier. The Korean population in the region is rapidly growing, and we will try to provide more convenient medical services for them.
David Chung, M.D., who works at Holy Name as a volunteer physician, said, I treat Korean patients who come to the Holy Name Hospital because I want to return the profits I earn from the Korean-American community. The Holy Name Hospital serves the Korean elderly who have little or no insurance, as well as retired Korean patients, and seeks to give them better health care.
Pascack Valley Hospital, in Westwood, plans to open a medical center run by Korean physicians in Closter; Englewood Hospital hiring Korean nurses and teaching the staff.
Many hospital facilities are distributing Korean-language pamphlets.
These are just a few of the steps hospital facilities are beginning to take to serve their Korean patients.
Although there are no complete translator services available for Korean patients yet, some translator services are available through the AT&T phone company, said Joseph Chung, an obstetrician who works as a clinical instructor at the Hackensack University Hospital.
We [at Englewood Hospital] provide services for Koreans and other minority patients and their families through a hospital-run language bank and telephone companies. As long as you notify your physician ahead of time, anyone can take advantage of the services, said one interpreter there.