Methodist Healthcare earns distinction from Mexican government

Web Posted: 08/03/2007 10:45 PM CDT

Wendy Rigby
KENS 5 Eyewitness News

On Friday, Methodist Healthcare celebrated a first. Its hospitals are the first and only hospitals in the United States to win an important seal of approval from Mexico

Methodist has done a lot of work to earn this title, which will pay off for San Antonio.

In an effort to reach out to patients from Mexico, Methodist is making its services bilingual and culturally sensitive.

With the stroke of a pen, five Methodist hospitals have been named Hispanic Healthcare Hospitals, a designation that's the first of its kind for an American health care system.

"I understand our great need to make sure that we can communicate very, very well with our Spanish-speaking population and understand their culture," said Jaime Wesolowski, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare

"I am really proud to witness this effort and this commitment of a visionary organization," said Dr. Enrique Rueles Barajas, a representative of the Mexican government.

The commitment to international patients includes signs and brochures in both English and Spanish, available translators to interpret sometimes complex medical information, and a staff trained to be sensitive to cultural differences.

For Methodist, winning over Mexican patients isn't just good politics, it's good business, giving the health care industry in San Antonio a high profile south of the border.

"For one of our hospital systems to step up and be the first in the United States, you can't be any prouder of what Methodist Hospital has done," Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said.

Methodist must seek the accreditation every year to keep its Hispanic Healthcare Hospital designation.

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