Steve Petty, Bruce Lawrence, Chris Hammes, Stan Hupfeld, Lyn Hester and María Aymat-Ghigliotty accepting the award, “Lo Mejor de OKC 2004,” presented to INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center by El Nacional

The INTEGRIS Health Hispanic Initiative was created to meet the needs of the growing number of Hispanics in Oklahoma. Since 1990, the Hispanic population in the United States has increased by more than 50 percent.However, the number of Hispanics in the state of Oklahoma has tripled in the last 10 years.

“We have seen a growing number of Hispanics as patients in both our Emergency departments and as inpatients. They often present with advanced stages of disease due to a language barrier that prevents them from knowing how to access care,” says Lyn Hester, vice president for Community Services for INTEGRIS Health. “It is incumbent upon us as a health care organization to learn to serve this segment of our community.”

For years INTEGRIS reached out to the Hispanic community through the Hispanic Health Fair. The fair’s purpose is to offer screenings and information to the Hispanic community.

“The Hispanic Initiative is an answer to the needs expressed by Hispanics in our community,” says María Aymat-Ghigliotty, coordinator of INTEGRIS Health Hispanic Initiative. “It is a way for us to stand behind our mission of improving the health of the people and the communities we serve.”

The Hispanic Initiative has enabled INTEGRIS to offer GED and ESL (English as a second language) classes, free computer classes in Spanish, Spanish immersion classes, dance lessons and cooking classes. A Spanish support group for cancer survivors has also been created and is the only one in the city. A cancer survivor workshop will be held in Spanish in spring 2005. In addition to these events and programs, INTEGRIS plans to bring many more cultural events to Oklahoma City.

Aymat-Ghigliotty says the biggest impact the Hispanic Initiative has had on the Hispanic community is that now there are more and more calls from Hispanics requesting information ranging from how to get a GED to where to go for certain services or to find a job. INTEGRIS Health has become a resource for Hispanics in this community, not just for health information, but also for general assistance.

The Hispanic Initiative is obviously making a difference in the lives of Oklahoma City’s Hispanic residents. INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center was just named by the newspaper El Nacional, “Lo Mejor de OKC 2004,” or “Best Hospital in Oklahoma City 2004,”which was voted on by its readers.

“This award means that Hispanics are feeling more comfortable about coming to our hospital,”Aymat-Ghigliotty says.

For More Information
For more information, call (405) 636-7560.

INTEGRIS Health 3300 N.W. Expressway, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 (405) 949-3011 | HealthLine: (888) 951-2277