9-1-1 helps ensure that the public is well served in emergencies and that first responders are well-protected as they fulfill their duties.

In order to best prepare communications center personnel for calls regarding the H1N1 (Swine) Flu, NENA urges you to check their 9-1-1 Flu Resources webpage <http://www.nena.org/flu-resources-911> , where important information and useful links have been posted. Resources are updated as they become available.

Already Available on the NENA Website

Created and released within the past 24 hours is the Interim Guidance for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems and 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for Management of Patients with Confirmed or Suspected Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Infection.

Released in early 2007 and developed under auspices of the U.S. Department of Transportation is Preparing for Pandemic Influenza: Recommendations for Protocol Development for 9-1-1 Personnel and Public Safety Answering Points.

This important guidance document's creation included very active involvement of key NENA leaders/experts and other 9-1-1 and EMS experts.

NENA's site is also being updated to reflect useful guidance from the major EMD protocol providers, as available.

Again, check NENA's 9-1-1 Flu Resources webpage <http://www.nena.org/flu-resources-911>, periodically, as they intend to add important information as soon as we learn of its availability.

The NYPD is more diverse and cosmopolitan than ever, but when the nation's largest police force needs an interpreter it turns to . . . Monterey, Calif.?

Remarkably, even with officers who speak Arabic, Urdu and Punjabi - not to mention Farsi, Tamil and Swahili - there are times when it's quicker for police to connect with Language Line Services than to contact an officer fluent in any of the 148 languages spoken in New York City.

So when a Russian-speaking immigrant, for instance, walks into a Queens precinct to file a complaint the officer can pick up a phone linked to Language Line's Monterey headquarters and ask for help.

"They're able to speak any possible language," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said recently at a City Council hearing. "The officer and the complainant both get on the phone and they translate for the officer."

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

When three Korean speakers called 911 to report a bloody rampage at a Catholic retreat outside Temecula (California) earlier this month, interpreters played a vital role making sense of the unfolding chaos.

Two sheriff's dispatchers who fielded calls that night recently talked about working through an interpreter on the phone.

One dispatcher praised an interpreter's compassion and skill as he tried to comfort a shooting victim who believed he was dying; another mused about the difficulties of gathering crucial information through a go-between.

Both noted that Korean translators were on the phone within seconds once they requested them.

The Riverside and San Diego county sheriff's dispatch centers both use the Monterey-based company Language Line Services to provide over-the-phone interpreters...

Read the rest of this North County Times News story 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.

Thank you!

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 >>

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