OMH on July 1, 2009 announced the release of its latest cultural competency e-learning program - Cultural Competency Curriculum for Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Response.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Garth Graham, M.D., M.P.H., said emergency preparedness in minority communities is high on OMH’s list of priorities. “I’m pleased to announce that we are launching a comprehensive cultural competency education program for disaster personnel. The program trains individuals such as emergency managers, first responders, social workers, and disaster mental health workers in effectively serving culturally and linguistically diverse populations at every phase of the disaster – preparedness, response and recovery,” Dr. Graham said.

In addition to the Cultural Competency Curriculum for Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Response, OMH offers a suite of cultural competency programs available at http://www.thinkculturalhealth.org, including A Physician’s Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Care and Culturally Competent Nursing Care: A Cornerstone of Caring. OMH also offers the Health Care Language Services Implementation Guide, which is a web-based interactive tool to assist in planning, implementing, and evaluating language access services to better serve limited English proficiency patient populations and decrease disparities in access to health care.

OMH’s free online programs allow the busy professional to earn continuing education credits in an atmosphere of their choosing and at their own pace. Institutions can alternatively opt to follow the small group format that allows a team to train together, discuss, and plan based on its own organizational needs and experiences. In addition to continuing education, the Think Cultural Health site houses up-to-date information on issues related to cultural competency, health disparities, and health care for racial and ethnic minorities. It also tracks and reports groundbreaking cultural competency legislation around the country. Think Cultural Health is a one-stop cultural competency clearinghouse.

For more information, please e-mail contact@thinkculturalhealth.org