More hospitals call on interpreters for help.
Source: 
Tampa Tribune (Tampa, FL)
Publication Date: 19-JAN-06
Byline: Mary Shedden
Jan. 19--ST. PETERSBURG -- Fernando Martinez high-fives doctors and
nurses as they enter an exam room at All Children's Hospital for his
monthly checkup.
"I love you," said transplant coordinator
Mati Vizcaino as she hugs the 2-year-old, who underwent a bone marrow
transplant in August for a rare blood disorder. "Yo te amo."
While Fernando plays, his mother, Leticia, and the boy's transplant
surgeon, Michael Nieder, review the boy's eating habits, sleeping
patterns and reactions to medications with an interpreter not in the
room, but hooked up via a special dual handset phone.
As
Nieder probes for answers in English, Leticia, a Mexican immigrant who
moved to Safety Harbor four years ago, responds in her native Spanish.
These conversations carry life and death consequences for the boy and
wouldn't be possible without language interpreters.
"If [the
doctor or nurse] can't speak the language, you are lost. You don't get
the information," said Nieder, who has worked at the St. Petersburg
hospital with patients who speak a wide range of languages, including
Arabic, Greek, Haitian Creole and Russian.
As the Tampa Bay area's population...
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