Chautauqua County Hospitals
Enhance Interpretation Services

140 Languages Available

he Chautauqua County Health Network (CCHN) is pleased to announce that professional interpretation services are now available to patients receiving care in all hospitals throughout the county. The new service is offered through the AT&T Language LineŽ, an on-demand, over-the-phone interpretation service. It's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and in most cases an interpreter is on-line within moments.

Stan Lundine, CCHN Coordinator said, "We are grateful to the Gebbie Foundation for making the program possible. Now we can speak to our patients in over 140 languages and better meet the needs of our community in a timely, consistent manner."

The new service will enhance what is already available at local hospitals, such as educational materials in several languages and interpreters on a limited basis.

If a participating hospital does not have the resources available to communicate with patients and their family members due to a language barrier, a supervisor will be notified and a dedicated speaker phone can be made available.

All information received by the interpreter remains confidential and is interpreted accurately, completely and objectively. "This is imperative in providing appropriate, high quality care." Lundine said. "Interpreters are knowledgeable about the health care industry and its terminology."

The CCHN members are: Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk, Lake Shore Hospital in Irving, Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield and WCA Hospital in Jamestown. The purpose of the network is to promote high quality, cost-effective and efficient health care for the community through collaboration and proactively addressing barriers within the healthcare system of Chautauqua County.

Alternative Means of Communication

The members of the committee are also developing alternative means for communication. Services provided by the hospitals are often aided by printed documents. Examples include admission and discharge instructions, patient care instructions, disease information, etc. The hospitals have many documents from the New York State Department of Health already translated into Spanish and other languages. The committee will have translated into Spanish other documents in order of their importance. As a result, the sharing of documents by the four hospitals in Chautauqua County will improve the array of these aids for each hospital's patients.

The committee is also developing a non-verbal communication guide. Patients will be able to point to pictures, letters, words and phrases, or to sign language pictures to help them to communicate with the health care provider.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the translation/interpretation services, contact Jim Buck at the Chautauqua County Health Network or by e-mail at jimb@wcahospital.org.

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