Make Medicine Better

Barbara Bogomolov, RN, leads the Refugee Health and Interpreter Services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. She assists refugees who often do not have a voice in health care decision-making. St. Louis is one of the largest resettlement communities in the nation with close to 100,000 refugees and immigrants making this area their home. As a registered nurse, Bogomolov assists refugees in getting necessary medical care and helps them understand and access other resources available in the community. Interpreter services are available at no charge 24 hours a day for patients who need help with language assistance or who have special cultural needs. Bogomolov also helps hospital staff members provide care in a manner that respects patients’ cultural heritage. Refugee Health and Interpreter Services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital was created to strengthen the services being offered to new arrival refugees in the St. Louis area. In the 1980s, very few refugees made their home in the area. Over the course of the 1990s, the refugee and immigrant population exploded both in volume and diversity. Today, Barbara’s team represents 14 cultures and 6 faith traditions and includes nearly 30 interpreters, a women’s health coordinator and a nurse. Together they provide services to patients and their families through at least 32,000 encounters each year in more than 60 languages. Bogomolov’s personal commitment to the refugee and immigrant population is impossible to overstate. Not only does she personally provide direct service and intervention for individuals and their families; she also works to tackle the systemic problems that new arrivals face. On her own time, she lobbies for non-English speaking people and serves on multiple diversity councils both regionally and nationally. She regularly travels internationally using her own resources, so she can better understand the situations from which refugees flee. She is a beacon of light for many, and though modest, she is incredibly powerful in her ability to serve, educate and inspire others. She is a true health care hero.