Northwestern Medicine launches cultural program for Spanish-speaking lung and thoracic disease patients

CHICAGO - Northwestern Medicine is launching a new cultural program for patients with lung and thoracic diseases.

Doctors say the program focuses on patients who prefer to communicate in Spanish and offers culturally competent medical care.

The doctor leading the program is a thoracic surgeon who grew up in Colombia.

"The language barrier is a significant limitation for patients with respiratory disease and thoracic disease to seek health care and to complete the treatments that are recommended. So what we think, what we want to provide with this program, is to take the language barrier out of the equation," said Dr. Diego Avella Patino, Northwestern Medicine Hispanic Program at Canning Thoracic Institute.

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Every team member working with the program speaks Spanish, and they have a dedicated phone line for patients who prefer to communicate in Spanish.