New video resource offers additional help for interpretation
LOVELAND, Colo. (Jan. 11, 2011) – Banner Health hospitals including four facilities in Northern Colorado are implementing new Video Remote Interpretation services to assist communications with patients.
The interpretation service uses video conferencing technology with certified medical interpretation to communicate medical information with hearing impaired and deaf patients as well as patients who speak Spanish, Vietnamese and Russian. Somali language services also will be added.
“This new technology will increase our ability to respond in a timely manner to the needs of our patients with communication barriers,” said Paula Harsin, Banner Western Region cultural services specialist. “Banner conducted trials of VRI at two hospitals and had positive feedback from medical staff and patients.”
With the implementation of an electronic medical record in Banner hospitals, bedside caregivers rely on mobile computers, also called Workstations on Wheels. Multiple workstations are found in each patient unit, and the Video Remote Interpretation software will be installed on select workstations. Those workstations also will have a larger monitor with a video camera and microphone on the top and a sound bar on the bottom of the screen. Each will have a tip sheet to explain the use of the program and contact numbers for additional help.
This program, produced by InDemand, is similar to Skype technology in that it allows the user to see and hear the interpreter on the video monitor. The interpreter also can see and hear the caregiver and the patient. The system is available 24/7 and is an essential resource to ensure effective and accurate communication with patients whose English language skills are limited and those who communicate using sign language.
In addition to the video remote interpretation program, the hospitals also use specially trained Spanish-language medical interpreters as well as a telephone interpretation service. The video interpretation will be the primary resource used to communicate with patients who use sign language.
The service was implemented at North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley in December 2010. McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Sterling Regional MedCenter in Sterling and East Morgan County Hospital in Brush all will implement the service in February.
ABOUT BANNER HEALTH
Based in Phoenix, Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country. Banner has 23 facilities that offer an array of services including hospital care, home care, hospice care, nursing registries, surgery centers, laboratories, rehabilitation services. These facilities are located in seven states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. In addition to emergency and medical services, Banner Health medical centers house a variety of specialized services, including heart care, cancer treatment, delivery of high-order multiple births, organ transplants, bone marrow transplants, rehabilitation services, and behavioral health services.
For more information, visit www.bannerhealth.com.
