About 6,500 miles and the Pacific Ocean separate Novi, Michigan, from Japan. But in a global economy, the distance can seem much smaller. Novi is a Detroit suburb with a growing Japanese population, due in large part to the many Japanese companies that serve the automotive industry.
Recognizing that the Japanese community has unique needs, in 2010 St. John Providence-Providence Park Hospital, part of Ascension Michigan, began offering Japanese patients help with their medical care through services of a bilingual nurse coordinator, Eiko Sterchele. The program has grown to seven members, including registered nurses and other staff.
Catholic Health World recently published an article highlighting the program.
In addition to translation services, the program addresses cultural differences and varying perspectives that natives of Japan may face while in the U.S. For example, breast cancer rates are typically lower in Japan, while the number of Japanese people with digestive cancers is higher, so St. John Providence-Providence Park Hospital offers more screenings for upper and lower gastrointestinal issues.
St. John Providence has a long tradition of providing medical care to the communities it serves, says Ann Boerkoel, Manager-Occupational Health. The Japanese program, she says, is an important part of the continuation of that tradition.
St. John Providence-Providence Park Hospital’s program to provide medical care for the Japanese community is growing at a rate of 5,000 new patients each year. With this success, a similar program is being designed to serve the large number of Arabic patients at Detroit-based St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital.
