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Multicultural Resources - Health ServicesAmerican Cancer Society 1 Bowdoin Mill Island National Cancer Information Center: 1-800-ACS-2345 Cancer information is provided, from prevention to details of diagnosis. Volunteers will provide free rides to receive cancer treatment, and free lodging near cancer treatment centers is available throughout New England. Women diagnosed with breast cancer, and men diagnosed with prostate cancer, may receive a "peer visit" through our patient support programs. Current programs also include breast cancer mini-grants in the Lewiston area for work with Somali and Spanish-speaking women. There are also several informational brochures available in multiple languages; call 1-800-ACS-2345 for details. Center for Transcultural Health In order to help improve the overall health status of an expanding culturally and ethnically diverse population throughout Maine and Northern New England, the University of New England has launched The Center for Transcultural Health. In response to the changing face of Maine the UNE Center for Transcultural Health has been developed to contribute towards the improvement of the health care status of targeted populations and communities by: City of Portland Minority Health Program Ultimate goal: To decrease the health care disparities in the minority communities in Portland, Maine. The Minority Health Program (MHP) of the Public Health Division, Health and Human Services Department, City of Portland, was established to help address the health related issues and desires of all minority communities (New Mainer minority, sexual minority, social minority, low-income earners, and the mentally challenged, e.t.c.) in the Greater Portland area of Maine. The MHP currently focuses on the largest eleven New Mainers ethnic/language groups: Khmer, Arabic, Spanish, Acholi, Somali, Serbian/Croatian, Vietnamese, Nuer, French, Chinese, and, Russian. Objectives:
Community Health Outreach Workers (CHOWs)
HIV/STD Program Portland Public Health offers the following services through their India Street Public Health Center:
Khmer Health Advocates Committed to the health of the Cambodian Family: an excellent resource for health consultations, bilingual videos, targeted training programs for health professionals and for volunteers who work with Cambodians, Khmer-English medical interpreters, Khmer language health assessment forms, and treatment programs for victims of torture. Maine Medical Center MMC's International Clinic is the central site for health care services for newly arriving refugees. Their experience in working with multi-ethnic and multilingual populations is a valuable resource in meeting health care needs. Clinic staffs are also available for consultation and education. Maine Medical Center Maine Medical Center (MMC) focuses on coordination of medical interpreter services with civil rights compliance activities, promulgating national standards for cultural and linguistic competence through staff education and professional development, and furthering health care access to multilingual and multicultural consumers of hospital services. The Department of Interpreter and Cross Cultural Services is able to provide interpreters in over 32 languages to all of MMC’s sites in Portland, South Portland, and Scarborough. If you need an interpreter for an appointment, please call (207) 662-4983 or e-mail interpreterservices@mmc.org. Maine Migrant Health Program The Maine Migrant Health Program's (MMHP) mission is to improve the health status of migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) and their families by providing culturally appropriate care and services. The MMHP serves MSFWs across the state, including those working in broccoli, blueberries, eggs, apples, forestry, and wreath making. Our organization provides mobile medical, voucher and nursing care, outreach services, case management, health education, transportation and operates a farmworker resource center (Rakers’ Center). Primary care is provided directly by MMHP in worker camps, worksites and community sites. Our voucher system allows MSFWs to access care in their local communities which is then paid for by MMHP. Care accessed through the voucher system includes dental care, prescriptions, primary, specialty and emergency medical care. In 2005, the MMHP provided medical care for over 1,000 people, of whom 60% were limited English proficient. All direct services are provided in outreach settings (i.e. camps and other community sites), where bilingual providers and/or outreach staff ensure that language is not a barrier to care. Medicare Part D: Bilingual Hotline The National Alliance for Hispanic Health has created a bilingual hotline to assist individuals with the Medicare Part D enrollment process. Individuals can receive 1 on 1 counseling, assistance applying for low income subsidies as well as finding a plan to meet their individual needs. Hotline is available Monday - Friday from 8:00 - 6:00 p.m. EST. Office of Minority Health, State of Maine Key Plaza, 8th floor The Office of Minority Health promotes health and wellness in Maine's racial and ethnic minority communities. ..Priority Areas
Public Health Nursing- Central Office Public Health Nurses are professional registered nurses providing individual and population based services to Maine residents. Services include: health assessments, health education and counseling, assistance locating health care providers and social service supports, and support to families in stress. PHN services are provided in client homes, schools, and specialty clinics. Services are provided to refugees, immigrants, and migrant workers in a culturally appropriate manner utilizing interpreter services as necessary. Sisters of Charity Health System The Cultural Services Department of the Sisters of Charity Health System offers Somali cultural brokers in many of its health care sites, including the Women’s Health Pavilion, the Family Practice, B Street Family Practice, and the Food Pantry. A Note on the Importance of Bilingual Mental Health Professionals And while providing an interpreter in a mental health interview is a legal obligation, it is far from the idea mental health treatment setting. Key to mental health treatment is an understanding of the individual’s worldview. A world-view includes an individual's philosophy of life, belief systems, and ways of interacting with the world. All cultures have their own diagnoses, explanations, and treatments for emotional suffering, many of which have no direct translation into English. Bilingual (and preferably bicultural) mental health workers are better positioned to assess and treat mental illness among immigrant and refugee populations. Given that many immigrants’ and refugees’ mental health problems are exacerbated by socioeconomic stressors, racism, and political oppression, effective mental health treatment for this segment of the population must encompass case advocacy, community outreach, and the mediating of complex social systems. Mental health clinicians who treat poor and/or undocumented immigrants should be skilled in the implementation of multiple interventive roles such as that of advocate, mediator, broker, and teacher. Below is a list of bilingual and/or bicultural mental health professionals as well as agencies with a particular sensitivity to multicultural mental health issues. Drawn from: The Harvard Program on Refugee Trauma (www.hprt-cambridge.org) Mental Health Services Martha Barry, PhD. Licensed bilingual psychologist of Mexican heritage and experience in many Latino cultures. Independent individual private practice. Sees individuals, groups, and new parents. Specializes in anxiety, depression, women’s issues, prenatal and postpartum support, preventive health and wellness, coping with chronic illnesses, and health psychology. Accepts Medicare, MaineCare, and Anthem BlueCross BlueShield. Gladys Garcia Offering individual, group, and family therapy in either English or Spanish. Does not take Mainecare, but possible reduced fees are available. Please call to schedule an appointment. Center For Grieving Children A collaborative with the following Portland Public Schools: Riverton Elementary School K-5 and Lincoln Middle School: A 20-week peer support program for students began in 2000 facilitated by our Center volunteers a consultant Therapist and a Social Worker, accompanying the students. These students originate from e.g. Cambodia, Vietnam and China, Ethiopia, Sudan, Iran, Azerbaijan. The mission of the program is to help refugee and immigrant children process their grief tied to traumatic and/or multiple losses they have experienced and to foster their natural resilience. Believing in the power of partnership, we link ourselves with a vital and trusting presence in their lives, the school, and provide services that are tailored to their cultural and logistical needs. The program seeks to provide a safe environment for the expression of feelings relative to the losses, trauma, and grieving refugee and immigrant children experience; to foster their resilience and provide an outlet for the process of grieving; to improve their ability to concentrate, adjust and achieve in the school setting; and to expand our cultural knowledge and integrate that knowledge into the student program, creating an inclusive, community-based service. Center for Multicultural Services The Center for Multicultural Human Services is a non-profit organization staffed by multi-ethnic, multilingual social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, education specialists, art therapists and graduate interns from local universities. CMHS offers a broad range of mental health, social, educational, health and language services geared to the unique values and characteristics of individuals and families from diverse cultures. Their vision is to become the pre-eminent provider of mental health and Community Counseling Center Community Counseling Center (CCC) is a non-profit agency providing a variety of mental health and family services including counseling and case management to persons living or working in Cumberland County. Fees are charged in relation to family size and income; however, no one is denied service because of an inability to pay. Services are provided to refugees, immigrants, and their families in all agency programs. In addition to programs already offered to Hispanic communities, CCC has hired case managers fluent in eight languages spoken in our African community, including Swahili, Acholi, and Sudanese Arabic. CCC also provides outpatient mental health and case management services to families and individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and late deafened throughout the state. CCC also offers individual, couples, and group counseling for the families of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals. Maine Speakout Project joined CCC as a program in 2004. Speakout offers a variety of programming that includes Speakouts, Everyone Counts in the Workplace, the Charlie Howard Memorial Library, and Walk with the Ones You Love. New England Family Institute New England Family Institute is a non-profit organization doing substance abuse and multicultural counseling with families and organizations, e.g. workplaces and youth groups, religious organizations, clinic and hospital settings. These services are provided regardless to a person’s ability to pay. All are welcome to move to the next place in their life’s journey. Spring Harbor Hospital Spring Harbor Hospital recognizes the special needs and concerns of individuals who are members of linguistic and cultural minority groups and are Limited English Proficient (LEP). It is the hospital’s policy to provide interpreter services free of charge during all hours of operation. Once a need is identified, hospital staff are trained to obtain the services of an interpreter through the RISinterpret of Catholic Charities or, if none are available, through O.P.I (via telephone). All direct service staff are provided with annual diversity training as well as training in the use of interpreters and are given updated education and information as it becomes available. Culturegrams, a printed resource guide, is available to all staff who require further information on the values, customs and cultural assumptions of the people they are serving. |
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