Congratulations to Ana Franceschina, Duke Perinatal’s Medical Interpreter, who was presented with a Strength, Hope and Caring Award by PDC Senior Vice President Paul Newman and colleagues. Ana was nominated because she is a self-starter, highly motivated and is constantly seeking opportunities to improve the patient experience for our Hispanic population. She displays such empathy for them and will not accept “no” as the answer.
Most of the clinic's Hispanic pregnant patients do not have insurance coverage and need help with paying for medications or diabetic supplies. She assumed the task of calling pharmacies to price commonly prescribed medications so she could identify the most inexpensive options for patients.
Patients with no insurance still need vaccines, and recommended vaccines during pregnancy are offered to them at the Immunization Clinic at the Health Department at no charge. Ana contacted that clinic to discuss how to streamline the process. The result of that conversation was the development of an “order sheet” that patients take with them to the Immunization Clinic to decrease their wait time. Ana also identified the best day/time for our patients to even go for vaccines so they would not be there all day. These are just a few of the examples that were presented by her colleagues for her nomination.
She is also an incredible interpreter. She goes beyond just translating the words that doctor says to the patient, but manages to convey the provider’s emotion, jokes, and expressions during her interactions. For a provider who is trying to connect with the patient, but doesn’t speak the language, this allows for a more intimate and meaningful interaction.
"There is no job too small for Ana. She helps with nurse intake visits, diabetic education, return ob visits, and helping providers call patients to convey results. Many of our Spanish speaking patients do not read. Ana frequently will sit with these women to help them complete their depression screens or other clinic paperwork. Recently, she stayed 45 minutes late to help a Spanish speaking patient explain her dizziness to a provider," was cited as a typical display of her dedication to patients. "Ana is just an overall good person, a servant leader for our Hispanic moms to be. She has raised the standard in our clinic and I am not sure what we would do without her."