California; Roundtable Discussion Looks at Patient Safety Through the Lens of Language and Culture

[Harold Schiffman]

Roundtable Discussion Looks at Patient Safety Through the Lens of
Language and Culture

MONTEREY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--"Patient Safety in Any Language,"
the first in a series of roundtable discussions on language access in
healthcare settings, is now available via podcast at
www.languageline.com/patientsafety. This educational forum is a
collaboration of the International Medical Interpreters Association,
The Joint Commission, Grady Health System of Atlanta, Ga., and
Language Line(R) University, a globally recognized interpreter
training and certification division of Language Line Services.

The following panelists addressed the issue of patient safety as seen
through the lens of language and culture with a discussion of the best
practice standards that are enabling healthcare providers to overcome
language and cultural barriers.

Dr. Peter Angood, Inaugural Chief Patient Safety Officer and a Vice
President for The Joint Commission
Izabel Arocha, President of the International Medical Interpreters
Association (IMIA)
Marty Conroy, former Director at the Division of Acute and Primary
Care Services with the State of New York and current Senior Manager
for Public Sector Programs for Language Line Services
Linda Joyce, a language access consultant, professional medical
interpreter, and language proficiency tester
Louis Provenzano, President and Chief Operating Officer of Language
Line Services
Sandra Sanchez, Director of Multicultural Affairs at Grady Health
System in Atlanta, Georgia
"Patient Safety in Any Language" was a prelude to the International
Medical Interpreters Association's 2008 International Conference on
Medical Interpreting: Addressing Health Care Disparities by Ensuring
Language Access to All. Many of the panelists, including keynote
speaker Dr. Peter Angood and speaker Louis Provenzano, participated in
the conference held October 10-12, 2008, in Boston, Mass. For more
information, visit http://www.imiaweb.org/conferences/default.asp.

A transcript of the "Patient Safety in Any Language" podcast, along
with articles and research on patient safety and the progress being
made to provide linguistically and culturally competent healthcare, is
available at www.languageline.com/patientsafety.

About International Medical Interpreters Association

The International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA) is committed
to the advancement of professional medical interpreters as the best
practice to equitable language access to health care for
linguistically diverse patients. Founded in 1986 to develop and
maintain a certification process for medical interpreters, the IMIA is
the oldest and largest medical interpreter association worldwide. It
has more than 1,600 members providing interpreting services in over
100 languages. IMIA membership is open to those interested in medical
interpreting and language access and in partnering to promote the IMIA
mission. The IMIA currently includes a division of providers,
corporate members, and trainers. Policy makers, health care
administrators, and others interested in medical interpreting are also
welcome to join as associate members. For more information, visit
www.imiaweb.org.

About Language Line(R) University

Language Line University is the globally recognized interpreter
training and certification subsidiary of Language Line Services, the
leading provider of telephone interpreting and other language-based
services. Language Line 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 phone, on-site and video
interpreting, translation, transcription, localization and localized
software and devices and the only medical interpreter certification
program that is externally validated. Through its leading-edge
technology infrastructure, Language Line Services provides support for
more than 170 spoken languages and American Sign Language to its
industry-leading portfolio of clients across markets including
healthcare, 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 or visit http://www.languageLine.com.

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