However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH) broadens this definition to include individuals and organizations less directly linked to the actual provision of care, such as religious and social groups. Cultural and linguistic competence are defined by OMH as “a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations. ‘Culture’ refers to integrated patterns of human behavior that include the language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups. ‘Competence’ implies having the capacity to function effectively as an individual and an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by consumers and their communities” (OMH, 2006, p.1). The OMH definition emphasizes that cultural competence is a term that applies not only to the individual provider but to the provider organization, and to the health care system as a whole.