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Back to all ExpertsJacqueline Ortiz, M.Phil
Vice President of Health Equity and Cultural Competence
Expertise & Research Interests
- Health Equity
- Cultural Competence
- Language Services
Jacqueline Ortiz, M.Phil
Vice President of Health Equity and Cultural Competence
Jacqueline Ortiz is the vice president for Health Equity and Cultural Competence at ChristianaCare. In this role, Ortiz develops strategic clinical partnerships, creates and implements a portfolio of innovative programs and evidence-based initiatives to identify, evaluate and eliminate disparities in health care process and outcomes. Her focus is on building the organizational capacity to reduce the incidence of disease and improve health outcomes, advance equitable health care services, and reduce health disparities for identified conditions and target populations.
Multimedia
Experience
Finding a doctor who looks like you: Delaware health care providers take aim at disparities
Jacqueline Ortiz, director of health equity and cultural competence at ChristianaCare, doesn't just want to focus on what happens in a doctor's office or during a therapy session.
She wants to take it well beyond those four walls.
A popular concept many health officials are embracing is the idea that social determinants of health – factors within your environment like housing, racism and education – all contribute to health outcomes.
"We've been working on different processes to screen patients for social determinants," Ortiz said. "And then working on a series of services and supports to actually support our patients as they live in their communities."
UP CLOSE: Transforming interpretation at Yale New Haven Hospital
Christiana Care residents do poverty simulation
Providers’ Perceptions of Medical Interpreter Services and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Patients: Understanding the “Bigger Picture”
Patient’s ability to understand and effectively communicate health information facilitates disease prevention, self-management of illness, the adoption of healthy behaviors, and their ability to act on important public health information. However, patients who have limited English proficiency (LEP) are significantly disadvantaged.
Hospital staff use of interpreter services for patients with limited english proficiency
Effective communication is an integral component of patient safety, well informed health decisions and overall patient care. Our prior research suggests an underutilization of interpreter services by hospital staff caring for maternity patients.
Language needs and health literacy for post-partum mothers
Limited English proficiency (LEP) and poor health literacy (HL) are barriers to effective patient-provider communication and impact health outcomes.