Cultural Competency

The employees at Salem Hospital and West Valley Hospital understand the importance of being culturally competent in all that we do.

Our cultural goal for the organization is to develop an environment where care, respect, empathy, and support for each other and the community we serve is the natural, unyielding expectation relative to our every action.

To reach this goal, everyone who serves at the hospital learns about cultural competence and diversity. To be culturally competent means you maintain a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that enable effective work in cross-cultural situations.

“Culture” refers to integrated patterns of human behavior that include language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, etc.

“Competence” means having the ability to function effectively as an individual and an organization within the context of cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by consumers and their communities.

“Diversity” is recognized as the uniqueness that each person brings to the organization and community. It includes differences in nationality, physical ability, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, job experience, education, socio-economic status, physical appearance, marital status, spirituality, personality, and position in the organization.

The ways that we are different and similar to each other affect how we view the world, each other, and determine how we want to be treated.

Understanding these similarities and differences allow us to work together as a more cohesive team, delivering more comprehensive care.