LANGUAGE
BARRIERS – LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) POLICY
Policy:
This policy is meant to ensure that persons with
limited English skills can access EMS care. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
has outlined the responsibilities under federal law of providers who receive
Federal financial assistance to assist people with limited English skills as
required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). Iredell County
EMS will take practical steps to provide an equal level of care regardless of
national origin or English proficiency.
Purpose:
·
Ensure that LEP persons have
meaningful and equal access to prehospital services.
·
Provide for effective
communication between EMS personnel and the LEP person so as to facilitate
participation in, and meaningful access to, prehospital services.
·
Provide necessary medical
attention in a timely manner with the hope of avoiding unnecessary confusion or
misunderstanding due to a language barrier.
Procedure:
1.
EMS will act reasonably to ensure that LEP persons receive the same level
of service as English-speaking persons.
2.
Examples
of practices which may violate Title VI are:
·
Providing services to LEP persons that are more limited in
scope or are lower in quality than those provided to other persons.
·
Subjecting LEP persons to unreasonable delays in the delivery
of services.
·
Limiting participation in a program or activity on the basis
of English proficiency.
·
Providing
services to LEP persons that are not as effective as those provided to those who
are proficient in English
·
Failing to inform LEP persons of the right to receive free
interpreter services and/or requiring LEP persons to provide their own
interpreter.
3.
EMS personnel will do the following to help reduce problems
associated with language barriers.
·
Identify the language/country of origin spoken by the LEP
person.
·
Point out signs posted in ambulances, distribute hand-out
material written in foreign languages common to Iredell County indicating the
availability of free language assistance, and utilize bilingual forms when
providing services to LEP persons..
·
Obtain a working knowledge of the predominate population of
LEP persons in our service area.