Health Care Facilities

Alta Bates Medical Center
"I was very impressed with Sondra at our "Culture Shock 2000" Board Retreat. She took a keen interest in everyone there and showed great insight and creativity as she worked with me and the staff on developing a program that was perfect for our needs. Moreover, Sondra facilitated discussions in large and small groups in a manner that made people comfortable enough to be honest about their concerns. We used Sondra’s ten “Culture Smart” strategies throughout our retreat to help us better understand the cultures we now find ourselves in."

Ron Marshall
Vice-President, Corporate Development
Alta Bates Medical Center

Caritas Christi Health Care System
"Sondra, you made everything so easy. The evals were all outstanding! I certainly hope our paths cross again."

Jane Metzger
Vice President, Clinical Operations
Caritas Christi Healthcare System

Carolinas HealthCare System
“Thank you for your participation in our conference, “The Competitive Edge: Excellence in HealthCare for a Diverse Community.” We have received wonderfully positive feedback from your presentation. You shared with the participants tools that can put into daily practice in their work settings that will help them better meet the needs of their diverse customers. I look forward to the possibility of working with you again in the future.”

Peggy Davis Harris
Vice President
Carolinas HealthCare System

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
“Comments about the programs Sondra presented at our Medical Center poured in for days following the meetings and every one has been superlative. Many people said that Dr. Thiederman’s material made this conference one of the best they had ever attended.”

Jeffrey Pomerance, MD, MPH
Chairperson, NPA/CPA Annual Conference
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
"Thank you for your superb presentation, "Bridging the Cultural Gap to Better Patient Care." As usual, your evaluations were excellent and the resources you provided invaluable to our continued success. I very much look forward to working with you again."

Ellen L. Rosen, RN, MN
Nurse Educator
Children's Hosptial of Los Angeles

Childrens Hospital and Health Center, San Diego
"I wanted to thank you for the excellent program you presented to our management staff on 'Cultural Diversity in the Workplace.' Your style of presentation was informative but not threatening and the exercises were very helpful in getting your message across. Again, my thanks for a superb job in addressing a critical and sensitive topic. I am hopeful that we can invite you again to further develop our sensitivity to the many issues involved in developing a coherent, effective, and comfortable work environment for all of our staff."

Judy Gust
Vice President, Human Resources
Childrens Hospital and Health Center, San Diego

Cromwell Hospital, London
“Sondra has the ability through her own personality and knowledge to hold the audience's attention. The participants even wanted the program to go on longer. The staff at the hospital benefited tremendously from these courses – it will make a real difference in how we approach our patients and in how effective we are at delivering the best possible care."

Geraldine G. McHugh
Administrator
Cromwell Hospital, London

Downey Community Hospital

Garden Grove Hospital

Good Shepherd Medical Center, Longview Texas
"Sondra, the 'Cultural Diversity' seminar was excellent!. It was at once intelligent, articulate, and very well received."

Jerry Adair
President & CEO
Good Shepherd Medical Canter

Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
"Dr. Sondra Thiederman gave an outstanding program on 'How to Manage the Multi-Cultural Workforce." Her quick wit, light-hearted mannerisms were well-received and perfect for a delicate topic like this. In addition, Dr. Thiederman is personable, deeply knowledgeable, and prepared to customize her presentation to meet the needs of your organization."

Pam Shea
President
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Chapter of the National Management Association

Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital
"Sondra's presentation on how to manage a foreign-born health care staff was concise, well organized, and extremely practical to the needs of the audience. I would strongly recommend her as an excellent resource for presentations on all aspects of cross-cultural communication."

Susan V. Butcher
Director, Food and Nutrition
Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital

Humana Hospital, London
“When Sondra visited to United Kingdom to speak to the nurses of Humana Hospital, she did a remarkable job of discussing the attitudes, anxieties, and difficulties of nursing patients from different cultures. Sondra handled the group with imagination and extreme competence. She held their interest and motivated them to complete various tasks throughout the day. I would recommend her most highly to anyone seeking this kind of information. I only wish she lived in the U.K. so I could access her speaking abilities on a regular basis."

Mrs. E. Birnie
Associate Executive Director, Nursing
Humana Hospital, London

Jersey City Medical Center
“Sondra has, of course, a great deal of knowledge, but what impressed me the most about the series of programs she did for us was how she facilitated the open discussion of diversity issues that had been buried for years. Once out in the open, we were able to begin the healing process.”

Kathy Martin, R.N.
Former Director of Med/Surg. Nursing
Jersey City Medical Center

Kaiser-Permanente Medical Centers
“Approximately 600 nurses went through the series of workshops that Sondra presented. The response was overwhelmingly positive . Here presentations style and methods challenged and engaged attendees who participated enthusiastically throughout the day-long programs.”

Ann Sweeney, R.N., M.S.N.
Former Director of Medical Center Education
Kaiser-Permanente Medical Centers

Kaweah-Delta Hospital

Los Angeles/USC Medical Center

Memorial Health System, South Bend Indiana
"Sondra made a real difference in the business climate of our organization. Her presentation inspired the executive team of the Health System to congratulate the planning committing for finding a way to demonstrate how to achieve excellence through diversity."

Deidra B. Turner
Diversity Officer
Memorial Health System

Olive View Medical Center

Orthopaedic Hospital, Los Angeles (In preparation for its role as Official Hospital of the 1984 Olympic Games)

Palomar-Pomerado Health System
“When Sondra came to present several workshops on diversity in the health care setting, she delivered a productive balance of practical information, experiential techniques, and group discussion; all of which served to increase our awareness and provide us with tools to be more effective in a multicultural environment. I would strongly recommend Dr. Thiederman’s programs to anyone who is concerned with these issues.”

Irene M. Brown
Director of Education
Palomar-Pomerado Health System

Press Ganey Associates

Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center

Regional West Medical Center
“Sondra came to Scottsbluff to help us better understand how to care for culturally-diverse patients. The great thing about her content was that, once she was done, we had skills that we could immediately apply in the workplace.”

Lenore Whaley, R.N.
Professional Education Coordinator
Regional West Medical Center

San Diego County Department of Public Health
"The training you presented on the topic of 'Cross-Cultural Issues in Health Care' was excellent. You are a dynamic expert on your topic and the participants made many postive comments. You successfully engaged the group and smoothly incorporated their experiences into your comments. I can clearly see why you are so popular and I do hope we can utilize you again on other projects."

Beth Levin
Health Services Training
San Diego County, Dept. of Health Services

San Diego Dialysis Services

San Diego Hospice

Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation

Scripps Memorial Hospital
“Sondra offered a series of programs on cross-cultural patient care to a staff that was itself culturally diverse. At first we were concerned that this might be an awkward situation that would stifle discussion, but somehow Sondra made it work and, in doing so, made a real difference in our workplace.”

Lee Fitzgerald
Director, Patient Relations
Scripps Memorial Hospital

Sharp Hospital
"Sondra did a marvelous job of developing a program on cross-cultural patient care that was full of tools that will enable our staff to immediately do their jobs better. Her train-the-trainer program was also great in that, although we are not experts in the field, she made us feel comfortable land confident in presenting this sometimes complex material.”

Carol Scheckler, M.P.H.
Manager, Community and Clinic Education
Sharp Mission Park Medical Group

Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children

St. Francis Hospital, Tulsa Oklahoma

St. Joseph's Hospital, Atlanta
"Dr. Thiederman made certain her workshop was in keeping with Saint Joseph's approach to diversity. Her wealth of information and engaging approach to this sensitive topic make her an asset to any company in the process of exploring their own diversity issues."

Vickie M. Moore, M.S.N.
Vice President, Operations
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Atlanta

St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach
"The evaluations from the program Sondra did were glowing. Almost everyone said the program objectives were achieved, the content was relevant, and you, the speaker, were knowledgable and experienced. When asked what they learned most, they responded that it was how biases and cultural ignorance can gravely interfere with effective patient care."

Vickie Dolan, RN
Director of Education
St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach

Texas Medical Center

The Harley Street Clinic, London
"Sondra Thiederman gave the nurses at Harley Street Clinic an excellent program on 'Cultural Diversity.' Sondra highlighted the expectations of patients coming into the hospital from various countries and explained why and how they acquired these expectations. I am happy to recommend Sondra to anyone who is interested in improving communication among diverse staff and patients."

Bridget Maher
Training Co-ordinator
The Harley Street Clinic

The Hospital of the Good Samaritan
“Since your presentation on cross-cultural health care, we have received many calls from people commenting on how much they got our of the workshop. We hope to arrange for a follow-up program so that we can take advantage still further of your obvious knowledge and expertise.”

Victoria C. Salter, R.N.
Former Coordinator, Nursing Education
The Hospital of the Good Samaritan

The Mayo Clinic

The Methodist Hospital, Houston (International Patient Services)
“When Sondra traveled to our hospital to conduct a program on caring for international patients, I knew it would be a great conference, but it ended up surpassing even my expectations. She received rave reviews most of which focused on how well she balanced her extensive practical knowledge with her ability to entertain. My only regret is that I didn’t attend the entire program. Next time, I’ll go as a participant so I won’t miss a single word.”

Lois R. Meek
Program Coordinator, Continuing Education
The Methodist Hospital Houston

The Princess Grace Hospital
"Sondra's programs on cultural diversity were extremely useful to us here at The Princess Grace Hospital in London. As you would expect, we have many patients from overseas and cultural barriers can interfere with our ability to give the best of care. I highly recommend Sondra's practical programs to anyone facing similar challenges."

Jeniffer E. Heath
Director of Operations
The Princess Grace Hosptal, London

UCLA Schools of Medicine and Nursing

University of California San Diego Medical Center
“Sondra, thank you so much for the outstanding programs. We were extremely pleased with the sensitive, enthusiastic, and thorough approach you took to the topic. Most important the material you provided will be immediately applicable in the workplace – we couldn’t have asked for more.”

Heather Harrison
Staff Education and Development
University of California San Diego Medical Center

University of Southern California School of Nursing
“Dr. Sondra Thiederman has served as guest faculty for the Institute of Continuing Education on four occasions. Each time her discussion of potentially judgment-laden information about other cultures has allowed learners to examine their biases and immediately increase their ability to deliver service to a diverse public.”

Sheila K. Byrne, RN, MN
Director, Institute of Continuing Education
Los Angeles County / USC Medical Center

Wellington Private Hospital, London

Contact Sondra’s office if you wish to receive contact information for professional references.

To check on Sondra’s availability or to receive additional information including a demonstration tape and references, please contact the bureau who sent you to this site or:

Joan Pierce
Marketing Director
Cross-Cultural Communications
4585 48th Street
San Diego, CA 92115
Phone: 619-583-4478 / 800-858-4478
Fax: 619-583-0304
E-mail: STPhD@Thiederman.com