Victory! Translation Services in the
Hospitals
After months of
protests led by the Language Access
Coalition, Columbia- Presbyterian Hospital
agreed to provide translation services to
the non-English speaking communities of the
city of New York.
At the end, the
Coalition’s efforts were very fruitful in
pressuring Columbia-Presbyterian to meet the
following demands: hiring a language access
coordinator; all staff and volunteers will
receive annual training regarding language
services; written documents will be
translated for patients; all patients will
be informed about the availability of
translation.
As part of the
coalition, Mirabal Sisters, embarked in an
aggressive education campaign that
highlighted the translation services issue
as many of our people who seek medical help
would still be risking their lives today if
this situation has not been resolved. In
some cases, school age children would miss
school in order to serve as interpreters for
their ailing parents and relatives. The New
York elderly immigrant population suffered a
great deal during all the years that the
Presbyterian Hospital neglected the
translation services to the patients.
Of 105 patients
who participated in a survey by the
Coalition, 60% never received informative
material in their mother-tongue from their
doctor. Moreover, 70% were not informed of
their right to receive free interpretation
services at the hospital. And 59% said they
were confused about their diagnoses when not
receiving interpretation services.
The Language
Access Coalition is working forward to
extending the translation services to all
the hospitals in New York City.
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