Improving Communication Across the Healthcare Continuum
The Community Emergency Response Volunteers (CERV) of the Monterey Peninsula has launched a powerful new initiative to support individuals with disabilities by enhancing communication access in healthcare settings. With a $75,000 grant from Ability Central Philanthropy, this project—Improving Healthcare Outcomes Through Effective Communication—aims to address persistent gaps in communication that impact health equity for patients with disabilities.
From January to December 2024, this initiative is reorganizing and improving national communication tools used in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and other medical environments to ensure healthcare providers can better support patients with disabilities that affect hearing, vision, speech, memory, and understanding.
A Multi-Disciplinary National Team
Led by CERV, the project team includes:
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Individuals with lived experience of disability
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Experts in health and disability policy
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State agency representatives supporting Deaf and blind communities
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Speech-language pathologists
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Physicians training community health workers
Together, this national coalition is building scalable resources to advance health equity for people who experience communication-related barriers in healthcare.
Project Achievements and Deliverables
Website Enhancements:
The Patient-Provider Communication Network website has been reorganized, expanded, and made more accessible to ensure both patients and healthcare providers can easily find and use critical resources.
Webinars and Trainings:
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Three 90-minute webinars featuring captioning, American Sign Language (ASL), and Spanish translation
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Archived for on-demand access to train providers and support patient education
New Tools and Guides:
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A downloadable Communication Access Planning Tool that guides patients and providers in developing equitable communication strategies
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A comprehensive suite of Communication Accommodation Guides organized by domains such as:
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Seeing
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Hearing
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Speaking
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Understanding
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Remembering
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Learning
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Mobility
These guides emphasize diversity, equity, language access, and inclusion.
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Why This Matters
Effective communication in healthcare is essential to patient safety, trust, and equitable outcomes. Yet individuals with disabilities often face systemic barriers to clear, respectful, and accessible communication with providers.
“By creating tools and resources that improve healthcare outcomes for people with disabilities that impact communication, our response in California will be improved—and so will access to healthcare more broadly across the nation.” — Sarah Blackstone, Secretary/Treasurer, CERV
A Broader Mission of Preparedness and Inclusion
CERV was founded in 2011 with a mission to build individual and community capacity for emergency preparedness, with a strong emphasis on serving the most vulnerable populations. In addition to supporting CERT programs and disaster readiness efforts across Monterey County, CERV is recognized for its leadership in promoting communication equity in crisis and healthcare settings.
This grant represents CERV’s growing national role in ensuring that no one is left behind during emergencies—medical or environmental.
About Ability Central
Ability Central, based in Oakland, CA, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving access to communication for Deaf and disabled individuals. As a convener, educator, and funder, Ability Central empowers community organizations and systems to deliver accessible, equitable services.
For more about this initiative or to explore the tools created through this project, contact CERV at www.cerv501c3.org.
