“Outreach with Eva” by Belma Begic will be on display at two locations as part of the UMSL exhibit “PPRC Photography Project: Barnes-Jewish Hospital Center for Diversity & Cultural Competence.”
Communication is key in health care. Communication barriers between caretakers and patients can lead to misdiagnoses that could be a matter of life or death. That’s why the staff at the Center for Diversity & Cultural Competence plays an important role at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Last year, interpreters through the CDCC supported 42,621 patient encounters at the medical campus using 83 languages. And it’s that small, but crucial staff’s photographs that makes up “PPRC Photography Project: Barnes-Jewish Hospital Center for Diversity & Cultural Competence,” the newest exhibition from the Public Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri¬–St. Louis.
The exhibit will be on display at the PPRC Photography Project Gallery in 427 Social Sciences and Business Building at UMSL, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121). Gallery hours are 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. An opening reception will be held from noon to 1 p.m. April 26 in the gallery. The exhibit will be on display at this location through Aug. 28.
A duplicate of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital exhibit will open May 3 at the Arts + Healthcare Gallery in Shoenberg Pavilion at BJH, 4921 Parkview Place in St. Louis. The gallery is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An opening reception will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. May 3 in the gallery. The exhibit will be on display at this location through July 31.
Admission is free at both exhibits.
Last fall, Mel Watkin, director of the PPRC Photography Project at UMSL, gathered 11 interpreters and staff from Barnes-Jewish Hospitals’ CDCC for photography training. The participants then photographed and wrote about hospital experiences and community interactions.
Watkin modeled the PPRC Photography Project after the pioneering community photography programs established by artist and teacher Wendy Ewald. Several volunteer St. Louis-area community groups participate in the PPRC Photography Project each year. They learn the basics of photography and then are asked to document efforts to improve their neighborhood’s quality of life. The Public Policy Research Center’s goal for the project is twofold: to highlight the undertakings of local organizations working toward the greater good and to inspire people to take a closer look at and get involved with their communities.
The Photography Project is co-sponsored by the Public Policy Research Center at UMSL, Missouri Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Regional Arts Commission, Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation and Barnes Jewish Hospital.
More information:
pprc.umsl.edu
barnesjewish.org/diversity
barnesjewish.org/giving/arts-healthcare/current-exhibitions
