Track 4 - Health Equity

Sharing Session - 60 Minutes

G6 - Developing a Cultural and Linguistic Competency Program: The Houston Health Department Story

Wednesday, July 11
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Balcony K

This session will describe a comprehensive Cultural and Linguistic Competency (CLC) initiative designed by the Houston Health Department (HHD). The CLC was created to enhance compliance with public health accreditation standards, ensure adherence to federal guidelines, foster understanding of diverse communities, and encourage staff toward greater cultural sensitivity to their coworkers and clients. Presenters will discuss the five components of the initiative, including accreditation, communications and training, cultural events, language access, and workforce diversity and inclusion. They will share how the changing demographics of Houston guided HHD to increase its efforts to provide for the public health needs of diverse communities. The results of the ongoing evaluation of these programs, as well as the impact on HHD staff and communities served, will be presented. The goal of this session is to foster dialogue about how improving CLC among LHD staff may improve both workforce skills and service delivery.

Keywords

Health Equity, Accreditation, Workforce
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Beverly J. Gor, EdD, RD, LD

Staff Analyst
Houston Health Department

Dr. Beverly J. Gor is a Staff Analyst with the Houston Health Department (HHD) working in the Director’s Office in the Office of Program Development. She and her colleagues design and evaluate public health programs coordinated by HHD. Beverly is a native Houstonian and a co-founder of the Asian American Health Coalition and its HOPE Clinic, a federally qualified health center. A registered dietitian, Dr. Gor has conducted several studies on minority health disparities focusing on improving nutrition and reducing chronic disease and cancer risk. Before coming to HHD, she was an instructor in the Department of Health Disparities Research at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Gor has conducted several workshops on health disparities and the importance of cultural and linguistic competency. She received her bachelor’s degree in dietetics and doctoral degree in allied health education from the University of Houston and her master’s degree in nutrition and food science from Texas Woman’s University.

Presentation(s):

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Sudhoff-McGill Barbara, BS

Senior Staff Analyst
Houston Health Department

Barbara Sudhoff McGill is a Senior Staff Analyst with the Houston Health Department (HHD), Director’s Office in the Office of Program Development. She is over Quality Assurance and Compliance for the department working closely with all the Program QI liaisons. Together they ensure the department meets all Health and Human Services (HHS) requirements, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention criteria and Public Health Accreditation Board requirements for QI are met. This entails her being a Project manager over several QI projects and managing the Quality Council committee chaired by the Public Health Authority for Houston, the committee is made of leadership and all the other QI sub committees such as the Quality Assurance Committee and the 340B Program steering committee. In addition she works closely with the HHD Privacy Officer to ensure that all Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements are met. Before coming to HHD she was the Director of Municipal Court Administration for the City of Houston, she was instrumental in many court advances working closely with the Houston Police Department on several shared initiatives. She received her bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Management from the Texas A & M campus in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is the recipient of the Wall Street Journal Award for excellence in Finance.

Presentation(s):

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Angelina Esparza, BA, BSN, MPH, RN

Chief Program Officer
Houston Health Department

Angelina Esparza serves as an Assistant Deputy Director and Chief Program Officer at the Houston Health Department. In this capacity, Ms. Esparza oversees strategic partnerships, community capacity building, community & program planning, and quality assurance. She has served as: National Vice President of Health Equity at the American Cancer Society (ACS); Adjunct Instructor at the University of Houston in the College of Education; National Director of the ACS Patient Navigator Program; and Director of Community Relations at the Center for Research on Minority Health at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Ms. Esparza has over 20 years of experience in Public Health and has been responsible for public health funded projects totaling over $15.5 million.

Presentation(s):

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