“They just told me I had a stroke—but no one ever explained what that means.”
In this eye-opening episode, Theresa chats with with bilingual SLP and educator Jackie Rodriguez to unpack one of the most overlooked drivers of poor outcomes: health literacy.
We’re diving deep into:
- What health literacy actually means (and why it’s not just a “patient problem”)
- How racism still shape our caseloads today
- The difference between a language barrier and a dialect mismatch (and how to spot it)
- Why labeling someone “non-compliant” often misses the full story
- And how SLPs can empower patients by weaving health education into everyday sessions
Jackie’s stories and insights will make you rethink how you assess, educate, and advocate. Whether you’re inpatient, outpatient, or anywhere in between, this conversation will shift the way you show up for your patients—and help you become the provider they actually need.
Listen now and learn how to meet patients where they are, without lowering your clinical bar.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | iHeartRadio | RSS | More
Jackie Rodriguez is a bilingual speech-language pathologist based in Atlanta, GA. She graduated from Georgia State University. She has extensive experience working across the lifespan and continuum of care. Jackie is passionate about bilingualism & multiculturalism across the lifespan, health literacy and Dementia care. She is a recipient of the ASHA Early Career Professional Award. Jackie serves as the Director of Communications for the Bilingual Empowerment through Allied Mentorship Program (BEAM SLP), an organization that provides mentorship for bilingual CSD students and clinical fellows. Jackie enjoys educating others about race, ethnicity and the field of speech-language pathology on her Instagram account @unlearnwithme.theslp.
