By 2020, one in five people in the United States will be Hispanic. In the last five years, there has been 50 percent growth in Hispanic consumer spending. In fact, the U.S. Hispanic population is one of the top 15 GDPs in the world.

What does this mean to the health care industry? A recent national survey of health care executives commissioned by North Highland found that more than three in five have not evaluated the financial opportunity of Hispanic health care, or don’t know whether their organization has conducted such an evaluation yet. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed also said it is a priority — an indication that most are not preparing for or focusing on this area,

While 64 percent said they don’t know or are unsure about the health conditions of Hispanics, 74 percent said their organizations’ services adequately reflect the health conditions of Hispanics. This indicates a clear disconnect between executives’ knowledge and their readiness to adapt their organizations to the Hispanic population’s needs.

Meeting those needs will require a shift in how the industry interacts with them. Taking a cue from retail marketers, we need to get to know our customers and reach them in their own communities. This is a population that is focused on family, strongly connected to the community and thrive on building meaningful relationships and trust with whom they do business.

It is also important for health care providers to engage early, before they are sick, to help identify risk factors and build those relationships before they need hospital care.

I suggest providers consider the following:

• Develop resources that go into the Hispanic community to build relationships. Recruit culturally competent health care workers to build trust and help teach Hispanic consumers how to navigate the health care system before it’s needed and urgent.
• Create a culturally competent environment within the hospital setting. Go beyond providing translation services. Recruit a team that understands the needs of the Hispanic patient. In addition to being bilingual, they should be understand and embrace the Hispanic culture. Make the patient feel comfortable and cared for. Consider the types of food offered, the icons used, even the types of rooms available. And their family-oriented culture may require larger space for family members to support the patient.
• Work to build long-term relationships with Hispanic patients, their families and the community at large. That will result not only in retention, but also in stronger revenue streams.

Remember, this is the fastest growing demographic in our country. They are younger, live longer and are more loyal than other demographics. Building lifetime value into your engagement with the Hispanic community is not only good for their health, but also good for the health of your facility.