WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A new type of health care professional at Novant Health is doing its part to ensure patients of all cultures and backgrounds are understood including those in the LGBTQ community.
They're called transcultural health managers. These health care providers help educate team members about the perspectives and experiences of patients coming from backgrounds that may be different from their own.
Wendy Renedo is the Manager of Clinical Consulting with Novant Health.
She oversees four transcultural managers who are actively working at Novant hospitals across North Carolina. She said their role is essential to proving holistic care.
“A lot of what we do is helping our team members understand that we truly have to meet patients where they are,” Renedo said. “Previously we treated all patients the same in healthcare, and now we understand that to truly care for our patients in a remarkable way we have to meet those patients where they are when they come to us in our healthcare facilities."
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The “trans" in transcultural means “across all cultures”. Renedo said this can include religious practices as well as gender identity.
“There was a knowledge gap in the importance of pronouns and preferred names with our transgender patients,” Renedo said. “So, our team provided education across all of the 30,000 plus team remembers for the importance of that and helping understand why that is important and shows respect to patients."
Novant Health currently has four transcultural health managers actively working across the state, including Winston-Salem.
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