Health Access Collaborative received a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation as part of their program entitled "Pathways to Culturally Competent Health Care." The grant was awarded to accomplish several measurable outcomes. One of these goals was to improve access to health care by increasing the number and quality of medical and administrative interpreters available to community health centers, physician offices, hospitals, and community-based organizations in Southeastern Massachusetts. Culturesmart helped fulfill this mission by offering technical assistance, identifying the training needs, and then developing a customized 32-hour medical interpreter training that met the specific and diverse needs of the organizations represented (please see below).

Health Access Collaborative of Southeast Massachusetts, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving health care for persons with limited English. It was devised as a mechanism for organizations to pool their efforts in an ongoing collaboration to improve access to health and related social services in all facilities where persons with limited English seek services. Health care organizations include, but not limited to: St. Anne’s Hospital, South Coast Hospitals Group, Stanley Street Treatment and Recovery, Health First Community Health Centers, St. Luke’s Hospital.

www.healthaccesscollaborative.org