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MEDIA CONTACTS: Shirley Wills, 210-822-2378; Palmira Arellano, 210-575-0172 JoAnn King, 210-575-0171

Diversity Health Care Institute of Mexico Grants Designation in Ceremonies Feb. 16 in San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas – The Diversity Health Care Institute of Mexico today named Methodist Stone Oak Hospital as an accredited Hispanic Healthcare Hospital, making it the first hospital in the nation to open with this accreditation.

Dr. Enrique Ruelas, secretary of the General Health Council of Mexico, announced the accreditation at a news conference February 16 at the new hospital. Methodist Stone Oak Hospital opens officially on March 9.

“The accreditation recognizes the efforts of Methodist Stone Oak Hospital to make health care accessible to international and Spanish-speaking patients by removing cultural barriers,” said Dean Alexander, chief executive officer at the new hospital. “We must seek this designation annually. Our goal is to proactively ensure continuous improvement in the delivery of quality, affordable, accessible health care to our culturally diverse patient base.”

Methodist Healthcare is the only hospital system in the U.S. to obtain diversity accreditation from Mexico, and all Methodist Healthcare hospitals in San Antonio have achieved this prestigious designation.

The accreditation is based on the hospital’s ability to communicate with and accommodate patients from across the border by using signage in Spanish, using internationally understood symbols, and providing access to translators. In addition, hospital materials, such as legal documents, consent forms, patient rights materials, discharge instructions, patient education brochures, and waiting area publications are available in Spanish.

Methodist Healthcare is the only hospital system in the region with a dedicated International Services team to assist patients and their families in getting the medical services they need. The team also provides support for physicians and hospital staff in accessing healthcare services for patients from other countries. Methodist Healthcare has offered international services for more than 15 years, and last year alone the staff assisted more than 1,000 patients in receiving the health care that they needed.

In addition, Methodist Healthcare has been instrumental in facilitating the exchange of information between medical professionals in the United States and in Mexico. Few health care systems in the U.S. have been as successful as Methodist in building mutually beneficial agreements and alliances with another country.