“You speak Spanish?!” is a phrase of excitement that Diana Rodriguez-Salinas, MD, often hears from her patients at ProMedica Physicians Defiance and Napoleon Family Medicine locations. Dr. Rodriguez-Salinas is originally from Ecuador, grew up in Michigan and is now using her native language to improve patient experience at her practices in Defiance and Napoleon, Ohio.
While ProMedica offers interpreter and language access services through remote translation services via an iPad, Dr. Rodriguez-Salinas shares that many patients who speak a language other than English appreciate interacting with a native speaker for both privacy concerns and cultural nuances.
“One of my Spanish-speaking patients came to me and expressed her gratitude to be able to receive care not only in her native language but also from a woman provider,” Dr. Rodriguez-Salinas shared. “She said that she previously had avoided addressing some personal health issues with other providers because her son had to be present to translate.”
The number of Spanish-speaking patients at ProMedica Physicians Defiance and Napoleon Family Medicine locations has grown significantly over the past couple of months as more members of the community discover that there is a Spanish-speaking doctor at the location. Currently, Dr. Rodriguez-Salinas is serving anywhere from one to five Spanish-speaking patients a day.
Dr. Rodriguez-Salinas shared, “I ran into a Spanish-speaking community member who told me that she heard about me through friends and family. She said that she was very grateful that Defiance and its surrounding communities now had a Spanish-speaking provider. She said that it was a void that needed to be filled long ago.”
With the help of Dr. Rodriguez-Salinas and other providers from diverse cultural backgrounds, ProMedica is better equipped to improve the health and well-being of the diverse communities that we care for and serve.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Rodriguez-Salinas or find another ProMedica provider near you, use our provider search tool, which allows you to filter results by language(s) spoken. Or, learn more about interpreter services at ProMedica.
