2006年VOA标准英语-Language Barriers Plague Hospitals in the US

By June Soh
Washington, DC
06 September 2006
 
watch Language Barriers report

Leticia Menjaros(middle), interpreter,  helps patient and doctor communicate  
  

A recent study says language barriers are causing problems in U.S. hospitals as the population gets more diverse.

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Leticia Menjaros is a medical interpreter in Spanish.  She says she is busier than she's ever been in the two years since she began working at the INOVA Fairfax Hospital in the U.S. state of Virginia.

"I work a 12-hour shift and I am here on a pager and a phone,” says Ms. Menjaros. “When a doctor needs me they just call me and tell me to come into the room."

Interpreters trained in medical terminology¹ are in high demand in the U.S. as the country's population becomes more and more diverse.  The boom in the Hispanic population has led some hospitals to hire full-time² Spanish interpreters.   

Martine Charles  
  
Martine Charles is the director of Cultural Competence³ at the INOVA Health System, which has five hospitals in Virginia.  She says the hospitals are paying bonuses to volunteers who complete language and cultural competence training.

"We also have trained hundreds of our bilingual staff who serve as volunteer interpreters.  They are called on in multiple languages when there is a need."

"I have somebody here who doesn't speak English.  Could you just ask her why she is here today," one staffer asks of another in an increasingly common conversation.

Some health care organizations hire contracted interpreters and have telephone services that work 24 hours a day in 150 languages.

 
Laura Pfeifer 
  
Laura Pfeifer is with Fern, a non-profit organization that has more than 100 interpreters. They work for medical facilities in the eastern state of Maryland.  "Since I started a little over five years ago, each year there has been about 20 to 25 percent increase in demand for interpreters."

Census⁴ data says the number of U.S. residents with limited English proficiency⁵ has grown to 22 million -- eight percent of the population.  Federal rules require medical providers receiving federal funds [Medicaid or Medicare] to offer language assistance.   

Marjory Bancroft  
  
But the rules have not been followed, says Marjory Bancroft. She is with theNational Council on Interpreting in Health Care, an organization that promotes qualified⁶ medical interpreting services.

"In general a lot of (medical) organizations don't know about the law or they don't understand it.  This is a big problem," she says.

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows no interpreter was used in 46 percent of emergency room cases involving patients with limited English proficiency.

"The consequences can be tragic⁷," says Bancroft. “In many cases miscarriages⁸ have occurred. People have had amputations on the wrong limb or limbs cut off that they didn't know. A woman had an abortion⁹ without her knowledge." 

Advocates say health care workers throughout the world should be aware of diverse cultures. They say medical interpreters should be available everywhere in order to overcome language barriers and avoid tragic miscommunications.

1 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

2 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

3 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

7 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

8 miscarriages   

流产( miscarriage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Miscarriages are usually caused by abnormal chromosome patterns in the fetus. 流产通常是因为胎儿的染色体异常造成的。
• Criminals go unpunishedareconvicted and are miscarriages of justice. 罪犯会逍遥法外，法律会伤及无辜，审判不公时有发生。

9 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。