LanguageLine Blog | Video Remote Interpreting

CASE STUDY: Rural Colorado Medical Center Uses Grant Funds to Purchase Interpreter on Wheels

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on May 9, 2018

Yampa Valley Medical Center (YVMC) in Steamboat Springs, CO, is a 39-bed acute-care hospital that provides sophisticated medical services to more than 51,000 outpatients annually. Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, the region is a popular vacation destination, which adds to the challenge of serving the rural area’s diverse language needs.

“We have 16 different languages used in 2017 at the hospital,” said Erica Gallagher, manager of language services at Yampa Valley Medical Center. “Our highest frequency languages are Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin.

“When you first encounter someone that speaks a language other than the one you speak, you may feel like you can communicate decently, and that’s OK. But the more you have experience with it, you come to realize that, even if one word is misinterpreted, the outcome could be fatal or at the very least, have really negative consequences for the patient.”

Why More Retailers Are Using Video Remote Interpreting to Reach Multicultural Consumers

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on February 15, 2018

The face of retail consumers in the United States is changing. Multicultural consumers – including Asian, Hispanic and mixed-race individuals – are the fastest-growing population group in the U.S., with 120 million strong and increasing each year, according to Nielsen research.

What 2017 Taught Insurance Companies About the Need for Language Services

Posted by Greg Marshall on December 13, 2017

For tens of thousands of people, 2017 was a year of devastation.

First it was floods: residents in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and other southern states faced catastrophic damage. Hurricane Harvey alone claimed at least 48 lives and caused an estimated $190 billion in damage. Then it was fire. Wildfires in Northern and Southern California forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes as the governor twice declared a state of emergency.

When you factor in severe storms, cyclones, and other weather-related events, there were 15 that claimed more than 320 lives as of October. Each disaster cost $1 billion or more. Many of those affected were limited English proficient, deaf, or hard-of-hearing and required language services.Insurance companies know disaster is inevitable.

Having a language service provider on hand is a simple step they can take to ensure they are prepared to assist their policyholders and provide a great customer experience, regardless of language need.

Is Your Organization Ready for New Language-Access Laws Coming in 2018?

Posted by Suzy duMont-Perez on December 4, 2017

You may not realize it, but two laws aimed at improving communication with limited-English-proficient (LEP) beneficiaries will go into effect in 2018.

If yours is a home-health agency seeking to participate in Medicare or a health-insurance company that offers plans for employees, you will want to pay attention to these new laws so as to stay in compliance.

Measuring the ROI of Language Services in Health Care

Posted by Matthew Riley on December 1, 2017

A Somali man rushes into the emergency room with his young son, who has fallen from the balcony of their second-story apartment. Although the boy has no visible injuries, his father is concerned he may have a concussion and internal bleeding. He tries frantically to communicate with emergency room personnel using gestures and the few English phrases he has learned since moving to the United States six months before.

The triage nurse quickly places a video call to a Somali interpreter, who can relay the man’s concerns to her. Within minutes, the boy undergoes a CAT scan and receives appropriate treatment and monitoring. He is able to return home with his father later that evening.

Without video remote interpreting, this scenario could have played out much differently. While other industries demand to see a return on investment in hard dollars, the ROI of language services in health care is often measured by the absence of something.

Here are seven ways healthcare professionals measure the impact of their investment in language services.

Multicultural ‘Super’ Consumers Are Buying: Are You Selling?

Posted by Bob Gallagher on November 29, 2017

“Super consumers” are the superheroes of retail. Both emotionally and economically engaged with brands and products, they are the top 10 percent of households that represent at least 30 percent of sales, 40 percent of growth and 50 percent of profit in any given category. Any retailer not connecting with these consumers’ passions and enthusiasm may face struggles.

VIDEO: Earliest Adopter of Video Remote Interpreting Reports Significant Improvements

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on November 27, 2017

We all know that doctors sometimes have difficulty conveying medical terminology to patients. Imagine how insurmountable that challenge must feel when doctor and patient literally speak different languages.

This challenge is particularly acute in California’s Monterey County, an agricultural region known as “the Salad Bowl of the World” where nearly half of the 433,000 residents live in households in which a language other than English is spoken at home. Of the county’s estimated 177,000 Spanish speakers, 56% are considered limited English proficient (LEP), meaning they speak English less than “very well.” Nationwide, only two regions – Miami-Dade (63.7 percent) and the Bronx (46.5 percent) – have a larger percentage of Spanish speakers than Monterey County (45.8 percent).

The area’s linguistic makeup presents an unusually large challenge for Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP), which is tasked with providing LEPs – as well as deaf and hard-of-hearing patients - meaningful access to their services.

WATCH THE VIDEO: InSight Breaks Language Barrier for Central Coast Patients

How the Travel Industry Can Use Language to Gain Loyal International Customers

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on November 22, 2017

International visitors to the United States spent nearly $150 billion in the first half of the year, setting 2017 on a record pace.

Optimistic as these numbers are, it may also be true that American hospitality businesses are leaving money on the table by failing to provide travelers with an end-to-end travel experience in their own language, despite the technology existing to do so. In fact, American businesses could sustain the interest of these travelers and maintain their loyalty by providing an enhanced in-language experience.

When to Work with an Onsite Interpreter

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on November 20, 2017

Five Takeaways from California's Groundbreaking Language-Access Law

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on November 14, 2017

More than 40 percent of California residents speak a language other than English. It is also a state in which there is a significant mismatch between the second languages spoken by its physicians and the primary languages spoken by its patients.

Nearly 7 million California residents are considered limited English proficient (LEP), meaning they speak English “less than very well.” At last count, nearly a quarter of the nation’s total LEP population lived in this one state. In an effort to increase access to language services for these individuals, Governor Jerry Brown recently approved California Senate Bill No. 223 Chapter 771.

Here are five significant aspects of the law and their significance to healthcare organizations throughout the nation:

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