News of helpful efforts can travel far. Laura Leonard is proof.
The native of Mexico, who serves as president of Our Hospice of South Central Indiana, has been making impactful contributions in the local health care field for more than four decades, especially with its growing Hispanic population.
Mexico’s government recognizes that, and recently presented Leonard with one of the highest civilian honors the country bestows, the Ohtli Award. It is awarded to people of Mexican Heritage living in foreign countries for their community contributions.
Hurt, who leads an organization that provides end-of-life care, came to Columbus in 1978. She began her professional career locally as a nurse’s aid at Columbus Regional Hospital — then known as Bartholomew County Hospital.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
But it’s her efforts to help Spanish-speaking patients overcome barriers, starting when the Hispanic population began to grow in Columbus, for which she is best known.
First the obstetrics department called on her to interpret for Spanish-speaking pregnant women. Eventually she organized a group of about 15 bilingual volunteers to assist in that role.
She helped organize a process for patients to communicate in their native language and be directed to the services they needed by a bilingual employee.
Leonard worked with Healthy Communities to create a Spanish-speaking volunteer network, the Proyecto Salud Action Team, that would help meet patients’ needs and translate for them during hospital stays and medical appointments.
She played a key role in the creation and growth of a Spanish-speaking medical clinic at the former Volunteers in Medicine — a clinic that served the uninsured and now is known as VIMCare. As many as 7,000 Spanish-speaking families were served before the clinic was absorbed into VIMCare, which serves the uninsured and those enrolled in the state’s Medicaid plan.
Also among her contributions, Leonard helped start a medical interpreter course through Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. that high school students could take, to help meet the need for those services.
The Mexican government described Leonard as a "cultural broker" for her efforts to meet the needs of non-English speakers. She is indeed, because her efforts have contributed to Columbus being a more welcoming community.
The honor Leonard received is richly deserved, and her contributions to the Columbus community are greatly appreciated.
