A NEW Challenge Amid Nursing Shortage

Sunday, April 26, 2009 - An unplanned visit to the emergency room or the doctor's office can be a scary time.

Add to that the anxiety of not being able to understand or speak to your doctor or nurse, or even cultural sensitivities to being examined by a male or female healthcare provider.

Now you have a snapshot of how millions of people in the U.S. may feel.

That fear and possible additional patient trauma often makes the challenge of delivering high-quality care greater, and exacerbates the challenges of the nursing shortage nationwide.

As some states have gained as many as 500,000 immigrants, many who do not speak English, some emergency rooms and other clinics are at a breaking point.

Read the rest of this NorthJersey.com story here >>

The National Heart Lung Blood Institute combined elements from the "Act in Time to Heart Attack Signs" and the "Your Heart, Your Life" campaigns to develop this Heart Attack Survival Discussion Kit for Spanish Speakers.

The kit's format is primarily for a Spanish speaker to present to a Spanish speaking audience, but also contains English language materials for enhanced usage.

Use the Heart Attack Survival Discussion Kit as part of a Promotores/Lay Health Educators Training Refresher or with churches and other groups in the Latino community.

Order item #KT-025 at the NHLBI store for ONLY $7.50 each.

If you want to see the actual items from the toolkit, see the NHLBI publications for Latinos page.

By PAULINE W. CHEN, M.D.

Every morning after his liver transplant, and often in the afternoons as well, I visited Armando (not his real name) as part of my daily rounds. In his 50s, with still dark hair and even darker eyes, Armando had developed liver failure from hepatitis C, contracted from a blood transfusion when he was a young man in Mexico. I was the surgeon on call the night a liver became available for him.

Despite his wiry build, there was plenty of room in Armando for a good-sized new liver. And a pair of gloved surgeon's hands. While some bodies seem tightly packed from within, as if organs might spring loose at any moment, Armando's abdominal cavity, broad and flat, possessed a luxurious sense of space.

His intestines fell away from the walls, allowing me to see, without craning my neck, the gossamer lining of the abdominal cavity and the outlines of the last ribs curving down below his chest.

Read the rest of this New York Times story here >>

"Navigating Language Barriers under Difficult Circumstances", Annals of Internal Medicine, referred to by Dr. Chen in the above story.

More than 23 million Americans have limited English proficiency, which complicates their ability to obtain quality health care.

Language barriers in the health care setting can lead to miscommunication and cause medical errors, delay or denial of services, issues with medication management, and underutilization of preventive services.

A recent policy brief assesses emerging national efforts to address language barriers and profiles work in three states-California, Minnesota, and New York.

Read the entire Mathematica Policy Research study, "Overcoming Language Barriers in Health Care" here >>

PDF - Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader

Visit Mathematica for more policy research studies here >>

Selected News of the Month

• Third Annual National Medical Interpreter Certification - Open Forum To Be Held May 1, 2009, in Denver, Colorado.


• Language Line Services Expands Video Interpretation Service to Include Mexican Sign Language (Lengua de Seņas Mexicana).


• California Leads the Nation in Patient Health Rights. In-language services now available for all Californian's with health insurance.


• Separated by a Common Tongue: Foreclosures Trap Translators in Middle. Credit Crisis Brings Them More Business -- And Stress; Guilt Trips in Mandarin. (Wall Street Journal)


• "Medical Interpretation: A Bright Spot on the Healthcare Horizon" by Louis Provenzano, President and COO of Language Line Services (HealthNewsDigest.com)


• "Language Line Provides a Lifeline" by Geri Koeppel, freelance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona

Read the rest of Language Line Services news here >>

Language Line Services, the leader in over-the-phone interpretation, is seeking to increase its interpreter team in many languages.

If you have excellent proficiency in English, with strong listening and comprehension skills as well as good customer service skills, you can become an interpreter for Language Line Services.

We also have corporate positions available.

Immediate opportunity. Recruiters for the Spanish Recruiting Team.

Under the general direction of the Recruiting Manager, the Recruiter is responsible for full life cycle recruiting for domestic candidates. Four year college degree required; or equivalent work experience. Minimum one year of recruiting experience, or equivalent experience.

Visit www.languageline.com/careers. Click on "Apply Today" under "Corporate Careers" and follow the directions to add your profile to Requisition Number 4164.

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