National Minority Health Month: Why Language Access Saves Lives

April is National Minority Health Month – a federally-recognized observance established in 2002 that raises awareness about the health disparities that communities of color often face.

However, recent developments have cast a shadow over these efforts.

Earlier this month, following the Trump administration’s efforts to slash government spending and reduce the federal workforce, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced a significant workforce reduction, impacting approximately 10,000 full-time employees. Many showed up to work only to find out that they had been abruptly terminated with their access restricted. The Office of Minority Health (OMH), established by HHS in 1986, was also dismantled – a move that some legal experts claim is against the law.

These cuts at the federal level make it more urgent than ever to raise awareness and advocate for continued investment in language access in healthcare.

The high cost of language barriers

People of color routinely face more difficulty in accessing quality treatment and care, leading to comparatively worse health outcomes. Major contributors to these issues include wealth inequality, racial discrimination, and for immigrants specifically, barriers to language access.

For patients whose first or home language is not English, language barriers can result in misdiagnosis, delayed or missed treatments, improper use of medication, and more. Providing language access in healthcare settings should not be a luxury, but a fundamental component of effective care.

Consider these real-life examples:​

1. A British woman living in Spain had a double mastectomy she didn’t need, all because of a translation error in her medical records. Despite not being able to speak Spanish, she wasn't offered a translator. As a result, doctors believed she had a family history of breast cancer.

2. In 1999 in Massachusetts, a mother lost custody of her two children after her two year-old daughter was injured from falling off her tricycle, because physicians and caseworkers mistook the injury to be from child abuse. A trained Spanish interpreter helped set the record straight when the mother was interviewed after the children were taken away.

Stories like these show just how dangerous and potentially traumatic language misunderstandings can be.

The consequences of inadequate language access extend beyond individual well-being – they carry significant ethical and economic implications for our healthcare system. Studies have linked language barriers to miscommunication, preventable hospitalizations, and longer hospital stays, adding unnecessary strain to an already overburdened system and driving up costs for hospitals and taxpayers alike.

Read more: Why Language Access Still Matters – Even with the Latest Executive Order

Language access leads to better health

Good communication between patients and doctors isn’t just helpful – it’s essential to safe and effective care. Professional interpreters and translated materials in healthcare help make sure every patient understands their health and can get the care they need.

By investing in professional interpretation and translation services, healthcare providers can reduce costly medical errors, avoid redundant testing, and improve care efficiency. In the long run, ensuring language access is not just the right thing to do – it’s a fiscally responsible strategy that contributes to a healthier, more equitable society.

Indeed, when hospitals use these services, everyone benefits:

• Fewer mistakes: Trained interpreters help prevent miscommunication.

• Happier patients: People feel more confident and cared for when they understand what’s happening.

• Better care: Clear communication helps doctors diagnose and treat patients more effectively.

Langalo’s commitment to healthcare equity

At Langalo, we believe that clear communication is essential for quality healthcare. That’s why we’re dedicated to breaking down language barriers and ensuring every patient regardless of their language has access to the information and support they need.

Our partnerships with major healthcare institutions like Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Mount Sinai Health System reflect our commitment to serving diverse communities across New York City.

Our services include:

• Translation and Interpretation: Offering services in over eight languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.​

• Medical Interpreter Training: Providing training programs and Dual Role Medical Interpreter certifications tailored to healthcare professionals.​

• Bilingual Proficiency Assessments: Developing customized assessments to evaluate critical language skills in medical contexts, such as listening, reading comprehension, and oral communication.

• Foreign Credential Evaluations: We partner with schools in New York City, including the New York Medical Career Training Center, to ensure that international students and workers have their qualifications recognized accurately and efficiently.

Some of our notable collaborations:

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC): Since 2016, we've provided multilingual healthcare translation and interpretation services, including simultaneous virtual interpretations in Spanish and Portuguese.​

• Mount Sinai Health System: Delivered Spanish translations for various patient-facing materials.​

• NYC Cancer Research Institute: In 2019, our team completed a comprehensive project translating 100,000 words of website content into Spanish, ensuring accessibility for diverse audiences.

Conclusion

As we observe National Minority Health Month this April, it’s clear that language access is not a luxury – it’s a lifeline. The abrupt dismantling of the Office of Minority Health and significant workforce reductions of the Department of Health & Human Services highlights how fragile progress can be when it comes to health equity. 

Communities of color, especially those with limited English proficiency, continue to face preventable barriers to care that lead to real harm. If we’re truly committed to reducing health disparities, we must treat language access as essential, not optional.

It’s not just about compliance; it’s about compassion, dignity, and the fundamental human right to be heard and understood.

What can you do?

• Share this post to raise awareness of the critical role language access plays in healthcare equity.

• Support organizations like Langalo that are actively working to close the communication gap in various industries.

• Advocate for language access policies at your local clinics, hospitals, and community health centers.

• Ask your healthcare providers what they’re doing to support patients with limited English proficiency.

Let’s make sure that access to care doesn’t depend on the language you speak. Because better language access doesn’t just lead to better health: it saves lives.