title: Building an award-winning women's health ambulatory service and beyond.
abstract: Many barriers exist for the provision of high-quality health care to inner-city minority women. The barriers include access to care, compliance problems, financial concerns, system navigation issues, as well as language barriers. This article describes the transition of the Women's Ambulatory Health Services at Hartford Hospital from a traditional clinic model to a culturally sensitive private practice model. The road to transition was paved by valuable input from staff as well as patients. The final product was a much more efficient, inviting model that catered to the needs of the community.
authors.affiliation: Department of Quality Management, Hartford Hospital, 80 Seymour St., Hartford, CT 06102-5037, USA. lallen@harthosp.org
authors.forename: Lisa W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Greene
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001363:Awards and Prizes; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D003237:Connecticut; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D017146:Models, Organizational; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D014932:Women's Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data