Between worries about their loved ones’ health and anxieties over COVID-19 restrictions, it’s no surprise that hospitalizations can be just as stressful for family members as they are for patients. Add a language barrier to the mix, and the experience can feel overwhelming. But, as one recent visitor discovered, the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center team is committed to ensuring all patients and families feel seen, heard, and supported.
Luis Gonzalez has worked in the health system for 21 years and has served as the manager of Patient Access (Admissions and Central Registration) for a decade. He is driven by a “simple philosophy — treat everyone the way you’d want your mother to be treated.”
When Director of Patient Experience Suzanne Smith, MEd, CHES, asked Gonzalez for his help after a Portuguese woman who spoke limited English came in to visit a patient, he stepped up without hesitation. “She was concerned about her husband’s condition and wanted to see him, but there was a language barrier complicating communication,” he said. “I intervened [in Spanish] to provide all the information I could and to make her aware that we were there for her and her husband.”
Gonzalez offered support to the woman for two days — first comforting her after her husband’s surgery was rescheduled for the next day, then gently explaining why the patient needed to go to the heart and vascular intensive care unit rather than the PACU. As Smith worked to get the woman the visit she was promised, Gonzalez focused on putting her at ease.
“Caring for people deeply is just in my DNA,” he said. “You never know what a person’s going through, and what motivates me every day is knowing I can touch someone’s life just by being compassionate.”