NWH, Neighbors Link Partner With Mt. Kisco Police for Sensitivity Training
For those working in the health care field or in law enforcement where lives can be at stake at a moment’s notice, the problems caused by a lack of communication or understanding can magnify the strains of an already stressful job.
Since the spring, Northern Westchester Hospital has been partnering with the Mount Kisco Police Department and Neighbors Link to offer a cultural sensitivity training program for members of the village’s police force. It is a similar program that hospital staff has received for the past five years so they can relate more effectively with the sizeable immigrant community in Mount Kisco.
“Programs such as these enable information sharing and discussion and contribute to better relationships with the immigrant communities we all serve,” said Kerry Flynn Barrett, vice president of human resources at Northern Westchester Hospital and one of three instructors of the two-hour training course.
Starting in April, Barrett and her colleagues began offering the classes to the more than 30 officers in the village’s police department. The class was modified to help tailor it to the needs of the officers. She said there are similarities to what the Northern Westchester Hospital staff and local law enforcement face on a regular basis in working in a community that has an estimated 4,000 immigrants.
Without proper training, making quick assessments can sometimes lead to inaccurate stereotyping.
“In both of our career choices that we have, working as a police officer, or doctor or a nurse or a tech, you have to make a rapid assessment,” Barrett said.
Carola Bracco, executive director of Neighbors Link, which provides programs, training and education to help integrate immigrants into the wider community, was instrumental in helping to bring the training to the police. For several years, she has spearheaded the Police and Community Together program (PACT) along with Officer Edwin Ramirez, which has encouraged regular interaction between police and the immigrant community.
This effort, however, involves each member of the department.
“The key to the program isn’t just the training you receive but it’s the dialogue that takes place,” said Bracco, who also serves on the hospital’s board of directors. “That’s how you have better understanding of people’s cultures and you find closer relationships.”
Police Lt. Patrick O’Reilly said joint efforts between local stakeholders helps all involved understand their differences.
“This program is an impressive show of collaboration between community organizations,” O’Reilly said. “We are pleased to be part of such an endeavor.”
Barrett mentioned that the feedback from the police has been very encouraging.
“The police officers really appreciated the time that we all spent together,” Barrett said. “It opened up dialogue on so many things.”
She said fluency in a foreign language such as Spanish is helpful but not mandatory. Northern Westchester has technology such as the Cyracom Phone that can translate conversations in dozens of languages within seconds.
She didn’t rule out follow-up sessions for the police to maintain the momentum and good feeling within the community. At the hospital, the course is given once every three months for new hires.
Barrett and her hospital colleagues have also been approached by the Westchester County police to discuss the possibility of having training sessions for the roughly 400 members of that department.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
