AAC VP of Military & Veteran Affairs on the Importance of Culturally Competent Care

Sazha Ramos, VP of Military & Veteran Affairs at American Addiction Centers, was featured in Minority Nurse magazine discussing the rising numbers of minority Veterans and how treatment providers must take action to create care programs that are culturally competent. Minority Veterans are typically considered “vulnerable patient populations,” meaning they are at risk of receiving worse medical care and having poorer patient outcomes than their non-minority counterparts. Sazha discusses the basic steps that providers can take to ensure they are both reaching out to and treating these populations effectively. This may mean creating and advertising programs that are unique to certain populations, such as those who have been impacted by military sexual trauma, or even something small like serving food from a patient’s culture. The face of Veterans is changing, and so must our approach. Read the full article.