You and Your Family Relocate to Another State Because Your

You and your family relocate to another state because your spouse is transferred. Once there, you find that the population of the state has more cultural diversity and a higher rate of poverty than anywhere else you have lived. You take a clinical dental hygiene position in a corporate dental clinic. After your first week on the job, you realize that your patient population is primarily of a lower socioeconomic status than you have experienced in the past and most of the children are on Medicaid. You begin to learn more about the population of your state, their culture, and cultural issues in general.
-Many of the adult patients you saw this first week either did not speak English or were not fluent in English, and the office staff informs you that this represents most of the patients in this clinic. The children learn English in school, but many of their parents speak only Spanish. You speak English and do not speak Spanish. What is the best way for you to handle oral communications with your non-English-speaking patients or parents?

A) Have the children interpret for their parents
B) Provide written materials in Spanish and don't worry about using oral communication
C) Ask a Spanish-speaking staff member to interpret for you
D) Ask the patient to bring a friend to interpret