The 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds (TEF) are offering your 1199SEIU employees and members Spanish-language classes to help them better respond to the needs of the growing Latinx patient population. TEF uses its own textbook, The Language of Care, specifically designed for healthcare workers to acquire the Spanish words and phrases commonly used when caring for patients, such as those related to medical symptoms, illnesses and the pain scale. Conducted via Zoom, the 12-week classes meet once or twice a week (depending on class level), including weekday evenings and Saturday mornings, and are held in the spring and fall semesters. There are 144 students enrolled for the spring 2022 classes, and interested members can sign up now for a five-week summer session beginning in June. Cherisse Henderson, a Registered Nurse at the Institute for Family Health in Kingston, New York, who has taken the classes since January 2021, says being able to speak some Spanish has allowed her to communicate more effectively with her patients, many of whom are from Guatemala. Encountering a nurse who speaks their native language “absolutely makes patients feel less nervous and intimidated during their visit to the clinic.”
