Press Releases ....
NEMC
Offers New Interpretation Services
Press Releases
CONCORD, N.C.
January 4, 2005
The "NorthEast Medical Center’s Emergency Care Center is now equipped with a new piece of modern technology. The hospital is home to the Interpreter-In-A-Box, an interpretation device made by WorldWide Interpreters and distributed by Southern Medical Solutions.
With just the touch of one button, the
Interpreter-In-A-Box offers translations in over 60 different languages,
24 hours a day. Pushing the button immediately connects to WorldWide
Interpreters’ command center, where a live interpreter is immediately and
concurrently conversing in their perspective language.The device is used
to bridge the communication gap between hospital staff and non-English
speaking patients. “It’s a patient safety issue,” says Sherry Walter,
Emergency Care Center Clinical Director. “Because at this point if our
patients need assistance, and if they can’t communicate with us, then we
can’t help them. If they need assistance and they are speaking a different
language, then we can use this device to communicate efficiently and
immediately. With this device, it’s like having the interpreter right
there with you.”
Julie Dibias, RN, feels very confident using the
Interpreter-In-A-Box. According to Julie, “It’s especially good for any
kind of fast emergency. All you have to do is just push the button and
tell the operator who you are, where you’re calling from, that you are in
an emergency room and what kind of language you need. They’re right there
with us. I speak into the box, the interpreter translates what I say, the
patient answers the questions asked by the interpreter, and the
interpreter tells me what the patient said. It’s great.”
NEMC began a demonstration of the interpreter in early December and is the first hospital in the area to use the device. The Interpreter-In-A-Box helps in emergency situations by reducing the time it takes to treat a non-English speaking patient, when an interpreter is not available. The device is also very helpful with patient discharge and medication instructions. NEMC feels the Interpreter-In-A-Box is so helpful that plans are being made to purchase one for Maternity Services, Radiology, and possibly Surgery.
About Southern Medical Solutions
Southern Medical
Solutions www.southernmedicalsolutions.com is a business designed to meet
the needs of medical practices. Whether it be in language interpretation
services, medical transcription, or any other service needed, Southern
Medical Solutions provide systems that are faster, more accurate and less
expensive than current options.
INTERPRETER
IN-A-BOX Portable Translators
Provide Solution SETON
Heartbeat
Volume 9 Issue 48 December 6, 2002
If you've spent any time at Brackenridge Hospital, you'll know that the need for interpreters is great. You can hear them being paged over the intercom frequently. The biggest need is for Spanish-speaking interpreters, and Brackenridge employs two. But what happens when a patient speaks only Mandarin, Vietnamese or German?
"We've been relying on nurses and other staff to help us interpret for patients, which takes them away from their own patients and duties," says Brian Blaylock, project administrator, Brackenridge.
It's a frustration that Laura Rosales-Vacek, clinical manager, 7 West, can attest to. "Anybody can be called away to act as an interpreter," she says, noting that she has several Spanish speakers, three Filipino speakers, one Arabic speaker and one nurse from Africa on her floor. "If nurses have full patient loads, they can't stop what they're doing to translate for someone. A language interpreter has to be paged, which takes time."
It's a problem that has plagued the facility, but one that now has a solution. The Interpreter-in-a-Box, from World Wide Interpreters, is a portable device that provides translators for more than 40 languages, including Mandarin, Vietnamese, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. It is the size of a computer speaker and works just like a phone. At the touch of a button, a staff member can be connected to a professional translator who is trained in medical terminology.
Brackenridge's 7 West, which has a high need for interpreters, had the opportunity to test the electronic translators. "We loved them," says Rosales-Vacek. "They are accurate, clear and the people translating are very personable. They saved us so much time."
Rosales-Vacek adds that physicians on 7W were pleased with the translators as well. "We tested their Spanish, and one of our physicians tested their Chinese and was impressed," she says.
Paul Bass, director of Ambulatory Care, also has used the interpreters in his department. "They're wonderful," says Bass. It helps staff expedite patient care since they no longer have to wait for a translator."
The translators are immune to background noise and external interference. The device has digital duplex technology for bi-directional communications, meaning parties can talk at the same time and still be heard, unlike most speakerphones. Additionally, because the voice signal is spread over many different frequencies, conversations are secure from potential eavesdropping, thus ensuring doctor/patient confidentiality issues.
Brackenridge will receive between 30 and 40 units, which will be available throughout the hospital. Installation of the electronic interpreters should begin today. "The Interpreter-in-a-Box will not replace our existing interpreters, as they are still valuable to us. The devices will supplement their services," adds Blaylock.
NEW SERVICE HELPS PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE
A 68-year-old Vietnamese man with severe chest pains is transported by EMS to the Emergency Room at 3 a.m. His family is en route to the hospital. The patient speaks no English. The physician speaks no Vietnamese.
January 23, 1995
Volume 19, No.2
Good communication between physicians and their patients is a critical component of quality health care. Thanks to a new language interpretation service tested at UTMB, health care providers and patients now have access to an interpreter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A special speaker phone invented by WorldWide Interpreters, enables UTMB's medical personnel to set up immediate conference calls with translators who speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Italian, Arabic and Greek. Each translator is trained in medical terminology. Each interpretation session is recorded and archived by WorldWide Interpreters, and reviewed for accuracy by Olimpia Piccardo, director of UTMB's language assistance program. The interpretation system puts in place a reliable backup for UTMB's bilingual medical personnel, allowing the hospital staff to offer the best service to the most patients.
A pilot project to evaluate the service was conducted in
the UTMB Emergency Department, under the direction of Charles P. Davis,
interim director. During the pilot project, more than 2,000 minutes of
interpretations were recorded, despite the fact that bilingual staff was
on-hand every shift. Deemed a success, the project was recently expanded
to include the labor and delivery area.
