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Immigrant moms spur interpreter program growth
By Linda Franz, July 31, 2005

U.S. health care centers are feeling increased pressure to provide interpreter services now that almost one in four American births is to a foreign-born mother, according to a recent report by the Center for Immigration Studies.

At least two local health care providers rely on a specialized telephone interpreter service. Both Carlisle Regional Medical Center and Pinnacle Health System use CyraCom, which provides a dual headset phone system.

"They offer 150 languages to choose from, 24 hours a day, every day of the year," says Cindy Small, spokeswoman for Carlisle Regional. "What we really appreciate about this company is that their translators are especially trained in medical terminology" to minimize misunderstandings.

"The doctor gets to hold a phone and the patient gets to hold a phone so they all hear the same thing at the same time," Small says.

In the delivery room

While some critics have said a phone system can be awkward to use during childbirth, Small says the hospital, which has seen only a slight increase in demand for interpreters in delivery rooms, has not yet found any shortcomings with the system in the maternity ward. It has used CyraCom since October 2000.

"The need for translator services at our hospital is most prevalent in our emergency department," she says.

Over the past nine months, about nine different languages have been requested, Small says, with Bosnian and Spanish, in that order, topping the list.

Because of refugee resettlement programs, the Harrisburg area is the temporary home to many people who speak languages other than English.

Culturally diverse area

"Dauphin County is the second most culturally diverse county in the state, second only to Philadelphia," says Sharon Kelly, who manages patient and community education for the Learning Institute at Pinnacle Health System. "We see a wide range of languages on a regular basis."

Since July 2001, Pinnacle has used the CyraCom service, Kelly says. The phone allows the provider to have good eye contact and read body language.

"Pinnacle relies very heavily on the phone line," Kelly says. "The first year that our phone line was in service, we accessed 25 languages and multiple dialects."

Hospitals in the Pinnacle system include Harrisburg Hospital, Polyclinic Hospital, and Community General Osteopathic, all in Harrisburg, and Seidle Hospital in Mechanicsburg.

The phones have been used in every department, including intensive care and maternity, Kelly says.

One advantage to the phone line is that it's always available. Even when a certified translator can be found, they often need 24 hours notice â€â€