Please notify the scheduling staff that an interpreter will be needed at the time of your doctor’s appointment. If your child has been admitted to the hospital, please ask your child’s nurse to request an interpreter every time medical information is given to you. For evening hours and weekends, please call the main hospital operator.
Language Services staff have Master’s or Bachelor’s Degrees, are certified interpreters or have a certificate of completion from a formal interpreter training. They are required to be fluent in English and a second language. According to the hospital’s policy family members or friends are not allowed to provide interpretation because they might not have the medical knowledge required to interpret medical information.
The most significant legal statute regarding language access in hospital settings lies in Federal Civil Rights Law; specifically Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under Title VI no program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance may discriminate based on national origin, which includes immigrants with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Furthermore, in order to reinforce compliance with Title VI, Executive Order 13166 was signed by President Clinton in 2000. The Bush Administration in a memorandum by Assistant Attorney General Ralph F. Boyd, Jr. reaffirmed this Executive order in 2002.
Moreover, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990 and is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else. It was modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The ADA is an "equal opportunity" law for people with disabilities. Under this law it is required to provide auxiliary aids and services, including interpretation, for deaf or hard-hearing patients.
Intermountain Children's Health provides interpretation services in any language to all patients and families with limited English proficiency. This includes hearing impaired patients and their families. Our interpreters assist the hospital staff to clearly understand the patient’s medical condition and history and help the patient and family understand the medical condition and treatment options. For the hearing impaired, American Sign Language interpreters can be arranged through Language Services and a TTY system is available for patients who need hearing assistance.