By Winnie Heh, Senior Vice President of Global Operations, Language Line Services

The other day the Manager of Language Services for a regional health center client in Canada called Language Line Services with this request:

"I just discovered that our senior homes are using untrained volunteers to interpret in cognitive deficit evaluations for dementia and Alzheimer's disease," she said.

"I want to change this, but they do not believe telephone interpreting is going to work in this application. I want this to work. Can you give me some pointers on the do's and don'ts?"

I said "Of course!"

So, I arranged a conference call for this manager along with three of Language Line Services' subject matter experts, our:

• Interpreter Training Manager,
• Interpreter Quality Assurance Manager, and
• Senior Customer Experience Manager.

One would be hard pressed to find the collective interpreting brain power of Loly, Melida and Lulu anywhere. This is just one way we help our clients succeed.

During the subsequent conference call we learned that the client had conducted two test calls on their own in mid-July.

On those calls, the health center's in-house interpreters acted as limited English proficient patients and Language Line Services' own team members - Kwan M. (Cantonese) and Victor P. (Spanish) - interpreted for the physicians.

To learn the outcome of these calls, and what our experts recommended to this healthcare Manager of Language Services, read the rest of Ms. Heh's article here >>

Among the 50.7 million Hispanics in the United States, nearly two-thirds (65%), or 33 million, self-identify as being of Mexican origin, according to tabulations of the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

No other Hispanic subgroup rivals the size of the Mexican-origin population. Puerto Ricans, the nation's second largest Hispanic origin group, make up just 9% of the total Hispanic population in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Overall, the 10 largest Hispanic origin groups -

1. Mexicans
2. Puerto Ricans
3. Cubans
4. Salvadorans
5. Dominicans
6. Guatemalans
7. Colombians
8. Hondurans
9. Ecuadorians and
10. Peruvians

Hispanic origin groups differ from each other in a number of ways. For instance,

• U.S. Hispanics of Mexican origin have the lowest median age, at 25 years, while Hispanics of Cuban origin have the highest median age, at 40 years.
• Colombians are the most likely to have a college degree (32%) while Salvadorans are the least likely (7%).
• Ecuadorians have the highest annual median household income ($50,000) while Dominicans have the lowest ($34,000).
• Half of Hondurans do not have health insurance - the highest share among Hispanic origin groups. By contrast, just 15% of Puerto Ricans do not have health insurance.

Real Stories by Real Interpreters

Who of us can say we have impacted the lives of tens of thousands of people? Actually, Language Line Services' over-the-phone interpreters can.

"On This Call I Made a Difference" is a salute to our telephone, onsite and over-video interpreters around the world for the important work they do, each day, for so many.

We publish a new interpreter story here on our company website every other week.

Today our 22nd story is written by Elke L., Spanish interpreter (pictured).

Like so many calls our interpreters take, this one deals with a delicate subject and Elke tells how, on this call, she made a difference:

"I was interpreting for an insurance company's female 'claims' representative. The limited English proficient person was a mother whose son had attempted to commit suicide by driving his car over a cliff.

"When the mother reported the incident she was close to tears but tried to keep herself together as much as she could. It was so inspiring. As a mother of a 16-year-old, I could relate to her.

"Both the insurance company's representative and I showed empathy, understanding, love and compassion for this woman.

"The conversation went extremely well, though it was so obvious the three of us were fighting to control our tone, and our tears.

At the end of the conversation I found myself praying that the Lord would comfort that mother and would use other people so that this horrible circumstance could bring life and redemption into that young man's life.

Amazingly, the car could not reach the edge of the cliff because a stone 'got in the way'. Obviously there is a purpose to this man's life.

There was a kind of 'bonding' among the three of us women during the course of this conversation. It was there in the tone of our voices that we had made a difference in this mother's life.

Would you like to join us as an interpreter?

Visit our Careers center to learn more about this growing profession.

We also invite you to read all twenty-two of our interpreter stories. Just visit our "On This Call I Made a Difference" web page here.

If you follow us on Twitter and Facebook, you will be the first to know when a new interpreter story has been posted. Thank you!

Attention interpreters, translators, educators and language access experts, three important conferences are taking place just a couple months from now.

Please consider the advantages to you and your organization of attending, presenting and sponsoring these events.

• 6th Annual TAHIT Symposium on Language
  September 7 & 8, 2012 - San Antonio, TX
  The Texas Assn. of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators' Symposium on Language Access
  http://www.tahit.us/2012_symposium
  Register here http://goo.gl/RwFP4
  For more information info@tahit.us


• Arizona Translators & Interpreters Association Annual Conference
  September 14, 2012 - Phoenix, Arizona
  For more information:
  (480) 331-9284
  Email: info@ATIinc.org
  


• Texas Alliance for Patient Services (TAPS) 2012 Conference
  September 27 & 28, 2012 - Dallas, Texas
  "It's ALWAYS About the Patient Understanding HCAHPS and the Role of the Patient Advocate"
  For more information:
  Conference Brochure Here
  Register Here http://goo.gl/lhGGS

If your organization is having an event between now and the end of 2012, and you would like our nearly 5,000 readers to know about it, send an email to pr@languageline.com with all the details. Thank you!

Hello everyone! Just a reminder that it's now even easier for you to apply for a position at Language Line Services.

Just log-in to your Facebook account and then type "Language Line Services Interpreter Careers" into the Facebook "Search" box.

Once there, click on the "Work For Us" button at the right of the page. New job openings are added every week, so visit often!

You can also visit Language Line Services' "Careers" page on our website here.

If you have near-native proficiency in both English and another language and are looking for employment with a company that will provide you with the training and coaching into this exciting profession, we have an opportunity for you.

Per Winnie Heh, Senior VP of Global Operations of Language Line Services: "Interpreting is a profession that requires language skills, a wide knowledge base, mental agility and most importantly the compassion for those whom they assist.

"We are proud to have opened the door for thousands of interpreters into the language access industry through our comprehensive and rigorous training program."

Take a look at our listings now and good luck to you!

PS: You can also visit our Careers section here www.languageline.com/careers >>

EEO/AA Employer.

Some positions may have been filled by the time you apply. However, new positions open up every week.

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