Resources for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
At RWJBarnabas Health, it is our goal to provide safe, equitable and culturally sensitive patient-centered care. To fully address the needs of our diverse patient populations, we have created specific programs to remove barriers and challenges faced by groups that have been marginalized when seeking health care such as access, language, transportation, financial barriers and more.
Our dedicated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs are specifically designed to target and remove obstacles to care. These programs:
- Ensure continuity of care. Health care navigators work with specific populations to ensure that medical appointments are made and that care instructions are clearly communicated and understood.
- Enable quality and culturally competent care. Cultural medical programs ensure that non-English language speakers work with providers who can communicate with them in their own languages and understand cultural nuances that can affect care. Some providers are multilingual; others use interpreters or phone-accessible language services.
- Provide inclusive services to individuals with disabilities. For patients with hearing, we provide sign language interpreters, and for people with vision impairments, we use an innovative smartphone app to improve access to visual information.
- Develop closer community relationships. We offer free health screenings, education, and low-cost preventive programs in our communities to target vulnerable populations, and to learn more about unique community needs.
- Improve patient satisfaction. Patients get care tailored to their individual abilities and preferences, improving the patient experience, and ultimately, satisfaction with their services.
To ensure that we provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) to our diverse patient communities, we record race, ethnicity, and language and sexual orientation and gender identity (REaL and SOGI) data. RWJBarnabas Health’s programs help patients reach their optimum health by ensuring that they have access to the high-quality services they need.
Culture-Focused Medical Programs
We are dedicated to providing care that is patient-centered, unbiased, culturally competent, and socially and behaviorally supportive. RWJBarnabas Health's Cultural Medical Programs consider the language, literacy and cultures of our communities. These programs cater to the African American, Chinese, Hispanic and Latinx, and Indian communities of New Jersey.
Disability Inclusion and Accessibility
We offer inclusive medical care for people of all abilities. Special accommodations and services are available for physically and mentally disabled patients, including deaf and hearing impaired, visually impaired, and mentally challenged individuals. Learn more about our inclusive policies on our Disability Inclusion and Accessibility page.
Language and Interpretation Services
For people whose primary language is not English, we provide free language services to improve communication between care providers and patients, including:
- Language assistance
- Interpreting services on demand
- Information written in other languages
LGBTQ+ Resources
We offer high-quality health care to everyone, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. Our practices and policies reflect the values we believe in. RWJBarnabas Health offers services aimed at the LGBTQ+ population and ensures that everyone feels welcome. Inclusive programs cater to the populations specific medical needs.
Learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion at RWJBarnabas Health.