Griffo: Health Department Unveils Project Increasing ACCESS
to Health Care

Oneida County Executive Joseph A. Griffo with Oneida County Health Department Director Eric Faisst

Oneida County Executive Joseph A. Griffo today unveiled an innovative project to help Oneida County ’s diverse cultural populations overcome language barrier issues when they need health care.

“The tremendous diversity of our population is an asset as Oneida County moves forward,” Griffo said. “This project helps meet the needs of our diverse cultures by bridging the gap between health care providers and the many cultures and languages in our region. Breaking this barrier in this important way helps families at a time of stress and also takes some stress off providers.”

The ACCESS to Healthcare Information for Culturally Diverse Populations project provides 29 different medical forms and brochures in four languages -- Bosnian, Russian, Vietnamese and Spanish, as well as English. The forms are collected in a binder. Health care providers can also get the forms on a CD, which is included in a binder that will be distributed to large health care providers.

“To help all providers of all sizes access theses forms, and to take advantage of the ease the e-government allows, we have also posted all the forms on our county Web Site , www.ocgov.net,” Griffo said. “ Any provider anywhere in the county – and even in neighboring areas – can access these forms. ”

Oneida County Health Department Director Eric Faisst said the project was the result of extensive collaboration.

“All the providers recognized there was a need for a project to ease the access to health care for our major refugee groups,” Faisst said. “Without their assistance, we could not have accomplished our goals.”

Faisst cited the contributions of the Access Project Steering Committee:

Fred Ashforth, Ashforth Associates – Chairman of Committee; Ioana Balint, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees; Cornelia Brown, MAMI (Multi-Cultural Association of Medical Interpreters of CNY); Janine Carzo , St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center; the late JoAnn Nora, Oneida County Health Department, and Phyllis Wilkinson, Oneida County Department of Social Service.

Faisst also praised the work of the Access Community Committee:

Karen Casab, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center; Ruth Concepcion, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center; Kathy Dyman, Oneida County Medical Society; Diane Evans, Faxton-St. Luke's Hospital; Linda Goldsworthy, United Healthcare; Leo Griffin, Faxton-St. Luke's Hospital; Janet Harris, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center; Patti Hayes, Sitrin Healthcare Center; Denys Jacques, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center; Andrea LaQuay, Faxton-St. Luke's Hospital; Scott Maneen, United Cerebral Palsy; Sharon Palmer, Faxton-St. Luke's Hospital; Grace Panetti, Slocum Dickson Medical Group; Ellen Perrone, Mohawk Valley Perinatal Network; Matt Tierno, Oneida County Department of Social Services ; Sandy Smith, Rome Memorial Hospital; Frank Tocco, The Neighborhood Center; Carol Torok, SUNY IT Nursing; Sandra Vidovic, Oneida County Health Department; and Judy Winfield, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees

Faisst also noted that several health-related organizations played key roles in the collaboration. They included: the Academy of General Dentistry , American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, New York State Department of Health and Smoke-Free Mohawk Valley

Griffo: Health Department Unveils Project Increasing ACCESS to Health Care

Faisst cited the contributions of the Access Project Steering Committee:

Griffo: Health Department Unveils Project Increasing ACCESS
to Health Care