CLAS Assessment

The Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards are a set of 14 mandates, guidelines, and recommendations developed in 2001 by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, to inform, guide, and facilitate organizations in their efforts to improve culturally and linguistically appropriate health services.

Assess your organization's adherence to the CLAS Standards by taking the Culture Care Connection CLAS Assessment. The assessment can help you:

• Evaluate how well your organization meets national cultural and linguistic standards
• Increase understanding of how your organization's systems, policies, and practices may impact its ability to meet the CLAS Standards
• Identify possible strategies to address cultural challenges
• Establish a baseline to measure future improvement against

Everyone in your organization who interacts with patients and their families or sets policies for the organization can impact a patient's ability to receive appropriate care. For example, policy makers set the tone for the organization by laying out the expectations for cultural competence: clinical staff should know when and how to ask for translators, and front line staff have the ability to make your organization a welcoming environment that encourages patients to seek proper care. For these reasons, taking the assessment is appropriate for:

• Managerial and administrative staff with policy-making responsibilities
• Clinical staff members who regularly serve patients (e.g., providers, nurses, medical assistants, lab technicians)
• Front line staff (e.g., front desk, security, telephone triage)

After completing the survey, individuals will receive results and recommended actions to address gaps. The survey is offered at no cost. You have the choice to take the full survey or select each of the sections that interest you.

• Full survey includes all three sections. Take the CLAS Assessment >
• Culturally Competent Care. Everyone in your organization who interacts with patients and their families can impact a patient's perspective on receiving culturally appropriate care. Caring for all patients, including those from diverse populations, starts with providing the care the patient needs and wants in a timely and efficient manner. Assess how well your organization provides culturally competent care >
• Language Access Services. Patient provider communication is key in establishing relationships and providing effective clinical care to all patients, especially those from diverse populations. Many patients from diverse populations do not speak English or cannot understand English in a manner that promotes effective communication with an English speaking provider. Assess your organization's language services, including use of interpreters, translated materials, etc. Assess your organization on patient-provider communication >
  
• Organizational Supports. Organizations need to understand the strengths and opportunities that lie within their current services and programs before investing resources toward improvement. Assess how your organization is set up to address areas such as collecting patient level data on race, ethnicity and spoken language; reviewing demographic cultural and epidemiological profiles of the community; and developing collaborative partnerships within the community. Assess your organization on improving service delivery >
  

Facility-wide CLAS Assessment

Individual assessments may not be enough to help you fully understand how well your facility is performing in relation to the CLAS Standards. Stratis Health can facilitate a facility or organization-wide survey to help you focus energy and resources. We can also provide a summary report, including a gap analysis with customized action steps and ideas to further your cultural efforts.

If you would like more information about facility-wide CLAS assessments, contact:

Stratis Health

952-853-3305