A lack of health literacy, language, and hearing ability can contribute to medication errors, delayed care, avoidable emergency department visits, and hospital readmissions. In this new report, prepared by NC Center for Health and Wellness Research Assistant Andrew Rainey, we look at language and communication access as part of healthcare infrastructure and examines practical ways WNC can improve both access and efficiency.

Home to over 70 different languages and high levels of illiteracy, communication barriers in healthcare facilities make accessing healthcare difficult for a large portion of Western North Carolina.

To learn more about language access in our region, NCCHW's audio producer Andrew Rainey speaks with Buncombe County’s Language Access Coordinator, Aaron Vidaurri, the Health Access Programs Manager at the WNC Medical Society Interpreter Network, Rosalia McHattie, Dr Leah Karliner, professor of medicine at the University of CA, San Francisco, Maggie Woods and Gretchen Ramirez from NC’s Division of Broadband Access & Digital Equity, and co-founder of the Cenzotle Language Justice Cooperative, Monse Ramirez, in 'Part 3' of this WNC HPI podcast miniseries.

Home to over 70 different languages and high levels of illiteracy, communication barriers in healthcare facilities make accessing healthcare difficult for a large portion of Western North Carolina.

To learn more about language access in our region, NCCHW's audio producer Andrew Rainey speaks with Buncombe County’s Language Access Coordinator, Aaron Vidaurri, the Health Access Programs Manager at the WNC Medical Society Interpreter Network, Rosalia McHattie, and co-founder of the Cenzotle Language Justice Cooperative, Monse Ramirez, in 'Part 2' of this WNC HPI podcast miniseries.

Home to over 70 different languages and high levels of illiteracy, communication barriers in healthcare facilities make accessing healthcare difficult for a large portion of Western North Carolina.

To learn more about language access in our region, NCCHW's audio producer Andrew Rainey speaks with Buncombe County’s Language Access Coordinator, Aaron Vidaurri, the Health Access Programs Manager at the WNC Medical Society Interpreter Network, Rosalia McHattie, and co-founder of the Cenzotle Language Justice Cooperative, Monse Ramirez, in 'Part 1' of this WNC HPI podcast miniseries.