Provider Spotlight: How St. Paul Children's Clinic Excels in Cultural Competency

Date: 02/21/17

Founded in 2009 by St. Paul Methodist Church, the St. Paul Children’s Medical Clinic in Tyler, Texas was created to ensure that all of the children in the community have access to medical services.  The clinic opened with only one volunteer pediatrician and has grown to two pediatricians and a Family Nurse Practitioner.

The clinic provides quality pediatric health-care services including: health and nutrition education, immunizations, medical screenings for the Head Start program, minor acute care, preventive checkups, referrals to specialists and a home for special needs children.

"Our goal is to provide quality medical care to people in the community who are underserved,” said St. Paul Children’s Medical Clinic pediatrician Dr. Danny Price, “and no child is denied service based on his or her family’s ability to pay."

The St. Paul Clinic has served Superior members for eight (8) years, and St. Paul Children’s Foundation Executive Director, Sharlyn McGhee, shares their top three (3) tips for a successful practice.

1. Be connected to the community you serve; This helps to reduce language and cultural barriers.

• Most of St. Paul’s staff are bi-lingual, which helps assist the majority of their patients who do not speak English. The clinic also offers English Secondary Language (ESL) classes to patient families to further help reduce language barriers.

2. Ask patients how you/your office can better serve them, to encourage consistent improvements and increase patient satisfaction. 

• St. Paul provides questionnaires to patients in an effort to collect input on how the clinic can improve and identify any issues or barriers. St. Paul then follows up with patients on their feedback to make sure they are getting the help they need.

3. Ensure all staff are knowledgeable and advocate for vaccinations, to improve vaccine rates.

• Clinic staff firmly believe that all children should be vaccinated. They train staff annually, using the Texas Vaccine for Children Program and “The Pink Book” webinar series. They also distribute vaccine information sheets to educate patients on the importance of vaccines. 

In addition to a focus on cultural competency, St. Paul participates in local and national programs that work to improve the lives of the children in their community, including Healthy Kids Healthy Families, a program that provides nutritional education to children and their families to help fight obesity.

The clinic also participates in Reach Out and Read, a national early childhood literacy program that makes early literacy a standard part of pediatric primary care.

For more information on how to ensure cultural competency and quality care in your practice, please visit Superior’s Provider Training Calendar and Provider Resources for the latest schedule of Cultural Competency and Disability trainings, and Quality Improvement resources. If you would like to highlight your practice in an upcoming article, please reach out to your local Account Manager.