This weekend was our first Bilingual Boot Camp: an intense Saturday/Sunday introduction to Spanish for those who want a quick-hit learning experience.  We had four people in class, all of whom came to the session with different needs and goals.  In addition to covering the basics of Spanish grammar and throwing more vocabulary at the participants than most brains can absorb, they addressed culture as well.  Given our Logan Square/Avondale location, exposure to Latino culture is not something that has to be limited to inside the classroom.  The students walked around our strip of Milwaukee Avenue (2900 North), bought fresh, delicious pastries at the Mexican bakery, ate lunch at the Ecuadorian restaurant – and, of course, practiced their Spanish at the same time.  A great learning experience overall.

So in advance of the weekend, I posted the information on some Linkedin groups that I belong to, and I was surprised this morning to read the following comment on one of them, a healthcare group:

Jill–What do Spanish lessons have to do with health care? This posting is not related to health care nor networking nor business events.

You can imagine my surprise at the ignorance of this question.  I was motivated to respond as follows:

Spanish has everything to do with healthcare. According to the 2005 National Health Disparities Report, Latinos have poorer quality care and worse access to care compared with non-Latino whites for 88 percent of measured outcomes, and Latinos are 18% less likely to report difficulties or delays getting care. The language barrier plays an enormous role in this.

In a city like Chicago, with 26% of the population being of Latino background and precious few doctors/providers equipped with the linguistic and cultural knowledge necessary for quality care, Spanish training is one of many crucial steps. Bilingual Boot Camp provides general introductory Spanish, and while we offer healthcare-specific Spanish training too, even the basics can make the difference when it comes to creating trust with patients, their families and the community.

The Latino population is expected to triple by 2050, so healthcare organizations – like others – that recognize this and start preparing will be best poised to succeed.

What does Spanish have to do with healthcare?  It has everything to do with healthcare these days, and in many ways beyond the points I addressed.  And I’d argue that today, like it or not, Spanish has just about everything to do with everything.