NCIHC On The Road
FREE Webinar

This FREE 90-minute webinar will take place on Tuesday, June 24, 2025
at 1:00 PM US-Eastern / 12:00 PM US-Central / 10:00 AM US-Pacific.

Click Here To Register

Continuing Education Credits are NOT available for this webinar. 

Safety and Patient Experience Across Languages: The Case for Robust Language Access in Hospitals Amid Changing Legislation

As the legislative landscape surrounding language access in healthcare continues to evolve, hospitals may find themselves questioning the necessity and scope of their language access programs. However, the core imperative remains unchanged: patient and provider safety and experience. This panel explores why building and maintaining robust language access infrastructure is not just a legal obligation, but a critical component of safe patient care and experience as well as provider wellbeing. We will examine the persistent risks associated with weak and inconsistent language access — from diagnostic errors to patient non-compliance to provider burnout — and how clear and consistent language-concordant communication directly impacts clinical outcomes. Expert speakers will share practical strategies for strengthening language access services, navigating regulatory ambiguity, and embedding a culture of linguistic inclusion, safety, and user experience across care teams. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to protect their language access programs and ensure all patients receive safe, informed, and compassionate care — regardless of language spoken.

About the Panelists

Michael Paasche-Orlow, MD, MA, MPH

Dr. Michael Paasche-Orlow is a primary care clinician and an internationally recognized expert in the field of health literacy who has dedicated his career to improving the care of vulnerable populations. He has led dozens of clinical studies that examine health literacy and doctor-patient communication, various modes of patient education, and empowerment. He has been the lead designer of multiple patient-oriented interactive behavioral informatics programs and has helped create and evaluate a range of patient empowerment and decision support tools that are being broadly implemented.

With over 300 peer-reviewed papers, Dr. Paasche-Orlow’s work has brought attention to the role that health literacy plays in racial and ethnic disparities, improving informed consent, and improving advanced care planning, as well as to the fact that appropriately designed information technologies can be empowering for patients with low health literacy. He is the Editor-in-Chief for Health Literacy Research and Practice and has helped promote the field of health literacy research as the Director of the Health Literacy Annual Research Conference for the past 15 years. He has lectured broadly on the role of health literacy in health outcomes and health disparities, including at the NIH and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where he also serves as a member of the Health Literacy Roundtable.

Dr. Paasche-Orlow’s research and training programs have been funded by: AHRQ, HRSA, NCI, NHLBI, NIA, NIDA, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIMHD, NINR, NLM, and NSF. He leads Tufts Medicine Center for Health Literacy Research and Practice and he is proud to serve as the Vice Chair for Research of the Department of Medicine. Dr. Paasche-Orlow is a Commissioner for the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters.

Allison P Squires, Ph.D., FAAN, RN

Allison P Squires is a professor and the Director of the Global Consortium of Nursing and Midwifery Studies, or GCNMS. The GCNMS is an 82-country research consortium collaborating on research capacity-building projects in nursing and midwifery globally. The consortium's current research study is examining the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nursing and midwifery workforces globally to understand how to improve global pandemic response implementation protocols for the largest frontline workforce cadre. Domestically, her research focuses on improving immigrant and refugee health outcomes with a special interest in addressing inequities in health outcomes resulting from language discordance during a healthcare encounter. For both, she is an expert in contextual considerations of global health care services implementation.

Prof. Squires has consulted with the Migration Policy Institute and the World Bank on nursing and health workforce issues and produced several major policy analyses with their teams. A prolific writer, Squires has authored over 200 publications, including 140+ in peer-reviewed journals. She serves as an associate editor of the top-ranked International Journal of Nursing Studies since 2012. She was the 2019–2020 Distinguished Nurse Scholar in Residence for the National Academy of Medicine where she worked on the consensus study "Future of Nursing 2020–2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Equity". In 2023, she received the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues interest group of Academy Health.

Prior to entering academia full-time, Squires worked as a staff nurse in solid organ transplant and as a staff educator for 11 years in the U.S. healthcare system. Her practice has since shifted largely to community-based nursing roles as a volunteer. Prof. Squires received her Ph.D. at Yale University, MSN at Duquesne University, and BSN with a minor in Latin American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Health Outcomes Research at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her primary appointment at the Rory Meyers College of Nursing at NYU, she holds affiliated faculty appointments/affiliations with the Department of General Internal Medicine at the Grossman School of Medicine, the Center for Latin American Studies, and the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research.

Michael Ponti-Zins, MS, Business Analytics

Michael Ponti-Zins is a Lead Analyst in the Center for Patient and Family Experience at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. With over 7 years of experience in patient and family experience, Michael leads the administration of Cincinnati Children’s PFE surveys and analysis of 100,000 annual survey responses, helping to drive data-informed improvements across the organization.

Before joining the Patient and Family Experience team, Michael served as a Data Analyst at Cincinnati Children’s, where he focused on improving outpatient clinic operations and reducing inpatient readmissions. He holds a master’s degree in Business Analytics from the University of Cincinnati.

Outside of work, Michael enjoys traveling, trying new restaurants, and cheering on the Cincinnati Bearcats.

About the Moderator

Rosemary Ford, MBA, OTC 

Rosemary Ford is System Director of Interpreter Services, a member of Covenant Health since 2010. A nationally certified Oral Transliterator and New Hampshire advanced-screened/licensed American Sign Language interpreter since 2010, Rosemary oversees the Interpreter Services Department at St. Joseph Hospital-Nashua, NH, St. Joseph Hospital-Bangor, ME and St. Mary's Hospital-Lewiston, ME. She has established and implemented best practices across Covenant Health and its 8 post-acute locations by creating policies/procedures and providing ongoing training on working with Limited English Proficient (LEP), Deaf/hard of hearing and individuals with disabilities. Rosemary has spearheaded the development of the Covenant Health Interpreter Services Department and has created a robust program that utilizes certified/qualified onsite interpreters, telephone and video remote interpreters, as well as professional translation services. In compliance with the ADA and Section 1557 of the ACA, an extensive array of auxiliary aids/services for individuals who are: D/deaf, hard of hearing, blind/low-vision or have a speech disability, are readily available throughout the hospitals. In addition to her role as a System Director, Rosemary leads St Joseph Hospital's Mobile Health Clinic's presence in the community to serve the marginalized and homeless, collaborating with the City of Nashua, local churches, social service agencies and our own parish nurses. Rosemary also works with SJH’s Business Health to support local businesses and corporations with their employee wellness initiatives.

Access Statement: The goal of the NCIHC is to provide full access to anyone wanting to participate in our programming. We must receive your request for a reasonable accommodation no later than two weeks prior to the date of the event. For those who request accommodation after that date, every effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodation; however, we may not be able to do so given potential time constraints. If you need accommodations to participate, please email [email protected] by June 10, 2025.