Attention: Patient Care and Patient Relations Managers and Directors; Telecommunications; IT; Multicultural Liaisons; Compliance Officers; physicians and...

Any provider interested in ensuring their facility complies with state mandates while improving the quality of care by overcoming barriers presented by language or culture.

Please join us for a live presentation and demonstration of the Language LineŽ HealthPort system which will include:

• A presentation by, Charles Lee, MD ˇ Founder & President Polyglot Systems Inc. and moderated by Cynthia E. Roat, MPH, Consultant and Trainer;
• Scenarios of how the system can increase efficiency and reduce costs during patient registration;
• Accessing valuable cultural information regarding traditions, religion, dietary restrictions, medicinal practices, spiritual and cultural issues toward death;
• How to communicate verbally and print in-language discharge, follow up treatment and medication information for limited English proficient patients; and,
• An open discussion with the speakers and language interpretation experts.

New York City (Location to be announced)

Thursday, October 18th, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Web based demonstration (Webinar) will also be conducted from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. EST.

Registered attendees will be entered into a drawing to win prizes including an Apple iPod and gift cards.

Refreshments and lunch will be provided.
There is no fee associated with this program.

To register for this informative and free demonstration, please write to HealthLetter@languageline.com

Special Note: Be sure to let us know if you are interested in the live demonstration in New York City, or the online Webinar.

Sponsored by Language Line Services, www.languageline.com

This year the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has initiated a program called "Effective Communication in Hospitals" specifically targeting patients that do not speak English as their primary language or are hearing impaired.

The aim is to strengthen language access in hospitals across the nation.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is collaborating with several hospital associations, initially in nine states, to help them develop plans that fit the particular needs of the individual hospitals.

For instance, the program includes help for improving communication in small, rural hospitals - one of the states participating is Kentucky, where out of 120 hospitals, 60% are in rural areas.

The following are the stated goals of the program - the hospitals will receive assistance in:

• Developing a process for assessing the communication needs of patients and their families;
• Identifying tools and strategies for developing training, best practices, educational materials, technical assistance activities and other resources;
• Responding appropriately and efficiently to the communication needs of individuals who are limited English proficient or deaf or hard of hearing;
• Sharing the results of efforts to assist other hospitals and state associations facing similar communication issues; and
• Identifying potential resources and creative approaches to cover costs.

For more information, or if your state hospital association would like to join in, the OCR has a web page for this program: www.hhs.gov/ocr/hospitalcommunication.html

In addition, the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recently released a Health Care Language Services Implementation Guide. It is an interactive guide that can be accessed free of charge at www.thinkculturalhealth.org .

Submitted by Linda Joyce - Certified Medical Interpreter and Consultant

The results are in!

The National Medical Interpreter Certification survey has been compiled and completed. The survey's purpose was to gauge the opinions of professional interpreters around the U.S. as relates to creating a national certification for current, and future, medical interpreters. It was open for responses from March to the end of June 2007.

Respondents were geographically dispersed across the United States with 34.7% working in the Northeast, 15.3% working in the Southeast, 29.5% in the Midwest, 8.9% in the Southwest and 11.6% in the West.

Of the respondents that were interpreters, Spanish was, by far, the leading language spoken among those taking the survey at 65%, with Arabic following at 15% and Russian and Chinese Mandarin both at 10%.

Following are the results regarding a drive for national medical interpreter certification. The summary indicates that respondents are highly favorable to the concept of national certification:

1. The country is ready for national medical interpreter certification. (80%)
2. Medical interpreter certification should be a national effort. (91%)
3. A medical interpreter should not have to travel to get nationally certified. (87%)
4. Testing of knowledge content would be acceptable over the computer. (70%)
5. A medical interpreter would be allowed to retake the national certification test. (99%)
6. A national certification test should cost under $200. (80%)
7. There should be three levels of national certification for the medical interpreter. (81% aggregate)
8. The minimum age for national certification should be between 18 and 21. (85% aggregate)
9. Continuing education must be a requirement for maintaining national certification. (80%)
10. Language proficiency must be an eligibility requirement to take the certification test. (90%)

1. Medical terminology in English and patient language must be mastered. (90%)
2. Comprehension and appropriate register are very necessary. (83%)
3. Comprehensive understanding of medical concepts needed. (80%)
4. A complete understanding of the interpreter role and interpreter ethics was very important. (95%)
5. Knowledge of cultural practices is considered necessary. (72%)

Additional results of the survey can be found at www.nmictf.org

For questions regarding the survey, please contact Janet Erickson Johnson, Language Line University at jerickso@languageline.com

Share Your Thoughts: If you have any comments of your own regarding National Medical Certification, please send to healthcare@languageline.com

Response to last issue's announcement that Language Line Services plans to double its global interpreter workforce over the next two years was tremendous.

If you are a professional interpreter or ready to make over-the-phone interpretation your career, we want to hear from you.

We are seeking interpreters fluent in one of these languages and others:

Burmese, Cantonese, Greek, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin, Marshallese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tibetan or Vietnamese.

The majority of Language Line Services' interpreter employment opportunities in the United States are for work-from-home positions.

Language Line Services provides an extensive orientation program accompanied by ongoing training and mentoring in interpreting for professional fields such as banking, healthcare, and technical interpreting for its employees.

Call or write to us now for more information about Language Line Services' career opportunities. Visit www.languageline.com/careers...

Or call (800) 532-4441.

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