Culture Care Connection newsletter

As part of the Culture Care Connection initiative, Stratis Health produces the quarterly Culture Care Connection electronic newsletter for Minnesota clinics working to provide culturally competent care to their underserved racially and ethnically diverse patients. The Culture Care Connection newsletter includes articles about specific racial and ethnic populations, the health issues unique to those populations, recommendations for successfully working with, treating, and communicating with patients from multicultural populations, as well as tools, resources, education and training opportunities, and multicultural events taking place in your community.

Current Issue

Culture Care Connection, Summer 2010 (7-page PDF)

Stratis Health Culture Care Connection Initiative Wraps Up!

Clinics that successfully completed the Culture Care Connection initiative are receiving results of the Post-CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) Assessment, a summary comparison of pre- and post-CLAS assessments, and recommendations for future strategies. See a summary of aggregate clinic results.

Asian Indians in Minnesota

The Asian Indian population is the second largest Asian community in Minnesota. The Asian Indian population in Minnesota was more than 30,000 in 2006.

Community University Health Care Center (CUHCC), Minneapolis, MN

CUHCC is not only a multiservice community health center for non-English speaking and multicultural patients, it is a multicultural community, where people are welcomed, educated, and have their medical and non-medical needs met.

Minnesota Diabetes Collaborative Celebrates 10th Anniversary

The Minnesota Diabetes Collaborative, in celebration of its 10th anniversary working to improve diabetes care in Minnesota, has joined forces with the heart health community to become the Minnesota Diabetes and Heart Health Collaborative (MN-DC).

Resources for Your Clinic

See Web links and upcoming events that can aid your clinic in its work to improve cultural competence.

Past Issues

Culture Care Connection, Spring 2010 (5-page PDF)

Culture Care Connection Initiative: Clinics are ready to take the post-CLAS assessment. CentraCare Clinic Women & Children in St. Cloud is using a systematic approach to implement its cultural competence improvement strategies. Cambodians in Minnesota:

Cultural patterns, clinical issues, and health care recommendations related to Minnesota's Cambodian immigrant population.

Minnesota County Profiles: Find demographic information on your county on the Culture Care Connection Web site. 2010 Community Health Workers Conference: Community health workers help to lower health disparities and bridge the gap between cultures and health care systems. Social Determinants of Health: Social determinants of health are the social and economic conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, including factors such as lower income, food insecurity, and living in crowded housing.

Culture Care Connection, Winter 2009 (6-page PDF)

Culture Care Connection Initiative: Clinic Progress: Clinic progress on completing cultural competency curriculum, action plans, and staff education. Ethiopians in Minnesota: Cultural patterns, clinical issues, and health care recommendations related to Minnesota's Ethiopian immigrant population. Culture Care Connection Clinics Present at 2009 Many Faces of Community Health Conference: The Annex Teen Clinic and Hennepin Faculty Associates describe the strategies and practices they are implementing to increase cultural sensitivity and competency in their daily interactions with patients. Also: Resources for Your Clinic, Holiday Celebrations, Holiday Plants Used as Herbal Treatments Around the World

Culture Care Connection, Fall 2009 (6-page PDF)

Culture Care Connection Clinics Implementing Action Plans: Examples of how participating clinics are implementing cultural competence strategies in their clinics. Vietnamese in Minnesota: Cultural patterns, clinical issues, and health care recommendations related to Vietnamese Americans. Culture Connections Health Literacy Tips: Tips for identifying low health literacy issues among your patients. Over-the-Phone Interpreters Eliminate Delays in Care: One clinic's perspective on using over-the-phone interpreters with their non-English or limited-English speaking patients. Also: Resources for Your Clinic, Multicultural Calendar.

Culture Care Connection, Summer 2009 (6-page PDF)

Iraqis in Minnesota: Cultural patterns, clinical issues, and health care recommendations related to your Iraqi patients. Multicultural Communication Tips: Diverse Assessment: Assessing patients to develop a personalized care plan based on culture and diversity. Minnesota Health Literacy Partnership: A collaboration of Minnesota health care consumers, health care organizations, and literacy groups formed to help coordinate health literacy efforts across the state. Culture Care Connection 2009-2010 Initiative: Announcement of initiative participants and update for participating clinics. Resources for Your Clinic: Resources to assist with planning and implementing health care quality improvement projects that impact minority populations. Multicultural Events: Local community events that provide information and education on racially and ethnically diverse populations.

Culture Care Connection, Spring 2009 (6-page PDF)

Welcome to the first issue of Culture Care Connection: A quarterly electronic newsletter for Minnesota clinic staff and others working to provide culturally competent care to their underserved racially and ethnically diverse patients. Minnesota’s African American Population: In 2005, Minnesota’s African American population was 218,400. It is projected to double by 2035. Multicultural Communication: Engage your patients and enhance your care delivery using multicultural communication techniques. Neighborhood Economic Conditions Impact Health: Obesity is increasing faster among black and Hispanic populations than among whites; lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet contributes to obesity, diabetes ,and cardiovascular disease; and socio-economic status is related to the amount of fruits and vegetables people in disadvantaged neighborhoods consume. Culture Care Connection 2009-2010 Initiative: Stratis Health is providing technical assistance to a second group of primary care clinics to help enhance their cultural competence. Resources for Your Clinic: The Exchange is an online resource for translated health education materials in the languages most frequently spoken in Minnesota. The Minneapolis Urban League and St. Paul Urban League assist African Americans and other culturally diverse groups in the achievement of social and economic equality.