Language Line Services' - Cross-Cultural Update for November 11 through November 24

Useful Cultural News, Tips and Timely Information.

 

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Health Risks of English-Only Medical Care:

A new study by the Infectious Diseases Society of America raises the question, do barriers to health care for immigrants and limited-English speakers increase the public health risk of tuberculosis?

The study suggests that immigrants with tuberculosis symptoms wait longer to seek medical care, resulting in more opportunities for transmission.

Language Line Services provides language access to thousands of hospitals across the country to ensure the populations of limited-English speakers they serve have quality access to health care and language is not barrier to diagnosis or treatment.

Representatives from Language Line Services and the health care institutions they work with are available to discuss the importance of providing language access in hospitals and how every member of a community’s safety and health is compromised if the entire population does not have access to quality medical care. For more information, contact Jeanine Karp at 305-785-0424 or Jeanine.Karp@rbbpr.com.

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Disaster Response in Any Language:

A new report from the National Council of La Raza examines lessons learned from the San Diego County wildfires of 2003 and 2007 and says a lack of multilingual communications during disaster response continues to create barriers to services for limited-English speaking disaster victims. 

Language Line Services provides interpretation services to 911, ambulance, police and other local and regional government first responders throughout the United States.

Victims of the 2008 Carmel/Big Sur, California wildfires fared much better than most.  Knowing that many of the Carmel-area evacuees spoke little or no English, the city worked with Language Line Services to provide multilingual communications on evacuation plans and 24-hour interpretation services for displaced victims of the fires. 

A Language Line Services representative is available to discuss why it is important for all local municipalities throughout the country to incorporate access to interpretation services into their natural disaster preparedness plans.

For more information, contact Jeanine Karp at 305-785-0424 or Jeanine.Karp@rbbpr.com.

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Limited English Speakers Affected as State Cuts Budgets:

Governor M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut recently authorized an unplanned mid-year budget cut, due to the sagging economy, that eliminated available funding for previously approved Medicaid medical interpretation services. 

Over 22,000 Medicaid recipients in the state are limited-English speakers who need interpreters in order to communicate with their medical providers.  Health officials in the state now fear that not having interpreters available will lead to an increase in disease, as patients will be unable to properly relay their symptoms to their doctors, and an increase in costs to the medical system. 

A Language Line representative is available to discuss the importance of providing the proper language assistance in medical situations.  For more information, contact Julie Jimenez at 305-461-5794 or julie.jimenez@rbbpr.com.

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LanguageTrak

The information below is provided by LanguageTrak™, a demographics tracking service provided by Language Line Services. The data reflects the languages most requested by emergency services, government agencies, health care facilities and businesses.
 

** Latvian:

• Nationally, in the past year there has been an 820% increase in the need for Latvian interpreters.
• Latvian is the primary language of the European nation Latvia, although it is also spoken in Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, The United Kingdom, The United States, and Venezuela.

Areas that have seen the largest increase in the demand for Latvian:

1. New York, NY  500% increase
2. Cleveland, Euclid, Lakewood, OH  500% increase
3. Maine (statewide) 400% increase
4. Chicago, IL 300% increase
5. Idaho (statewide) 33% increase

Areas with the largest demand for Latvian:

1. New York, NY
2. Cleveland, Euclid, Lakewood, OH
3. Chicago, IL
4. Arlington, Cleburne, Fort Worth TX
5. Brockton, New Bedford, Worcester, MA                    

    

ABOUT LANGUAGE LINE SERVICES

Language Line Services, the world’s leading provider of language-based services, is a trusted partner to thousands of organizations whose focus is to effectively serve the rapidly expanding market of limited English speakers. The company delivers a dynamic suite of solutions spanning translation, transcription, phone and video interpretation, interpreter certification, localization and localized software and devices, enabling clients to communicate with customers in their preferred language. Through its leading-edge technology infrastructure, Language Line Services provides support for more than 170 languages to its industry-leading portfolio of clients across markets including health care, financial services, government, telecom, manufacturing, insurance, entertainment, travel, and more. For information on how Language Line Services is helping clients achieve their strategic multi-cultural marketing and regulatory compliance objectives, please call 1-800-752-6096.