Monday, December 8, 2008

3 New Interpreters Added to Language Assistance Program Staff

"Hitna Pomoc"This Bosnian phrase meaning “Emergency Department” might not mean anything to you, but to a Bosnian-speaking patient in need of urgent care, those words on a sign are important.Between 10,000-14,000 patients that are LEP (Limited English Proficiency) visit Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare (FSLH) per year. With more than 30 different languages including sign language, the demand for interpreters and their services has dramatically increased. FSLH has added three interpreters to their staff and in just three months, their services have already "significantly helped to stabilize the department," said Ezio Poccia, Language Assistance Coordinator.Samie Kovac, Sidika Tocakovic and Sergey Verenich began working at FSLH in May and have balanced their time between the Faxton and St. Luke’s campuses as well as the eight surrounding ACP offices. Their schedules vary day to day because of the many different office locations and the need for translation services. Most of their time is spent at the North Utica and Washington Mills Medical Offices, the St. Luke’s Campus, the Emergency Department and Urgent Care."There are days we run out of interpreters, but we always try to get someone to Urgent Care and the Emergency Department within 20 minutes when possible," said Poccia. “If it isn’t possible, we urge the use of the telephone translation service until an interpreter can get there.” Verenich, originally from Pinsk, Belarus, has been interpreting since 2002. He is certified in medical, legal, and psychological interpretations and supports Russian and Ukranian needs. Verenich and his family left their country because of religious persecution. "It wasn't so much a challenge as it was a fifteen year struggle to get to the U.S.,” said Verenich. “I ended up in Siberia when I did my mandatory military service. Once we made it to America, we had to learn the language because we did not speak a word of English. I went to college and studied hard to learn.” Verenich received an associate’s degree in Business Management as well as a degree in Electrical Studies in Belarus. He has also completed numerous medical, legal and mental health courses for interpreting. He became interested in interpreting when he had rental property and his tenants would ask him to interpret for them. "I found that it was becoming a full-time occupation," he said. "When I learned there were classes I could take to become a certified interpreter, I took them."Kovac is from Gorazde, Bosnia, and has been a certified medical interpreter since 2003. She came to America because of the war in Bosnia. “When the war first broke out in Bosnia, I fled to Serbia,” said Kovac. “It was the most difficult time of my life so when I had the chance to move to America, I knew I had to do it. The inability to speak English, the major life changes I suffered and the war made moving a difficult part of my life. In the end, though, it made me a better person and allowed me to become a successful medical interpreter.” Since moving to America, Kovac has completed courses in mental health and medical interpreting. She enjoys helping Bosnians who live in the Utica area who are unable to speak English and feels lucky to work for such a great organization that allows her to be close to family and friends. Tocakovic is from Mostar, Bosnia, and has worked as a care attendant for FSLH’s First Floor East and now assists with interpretation and translation needs. She came to Utica with her husband after hearing nice things about the area from family who had moved to Utica several years earlier. “Six months after we moved to Utica, my husband became very ill and needed an operation,” said Tocakovic. “Fortunately, the employees at FSLH were the most beautiful, kindest, nicest people I had ever met. They made us feel comfortable and we could not have asked for more. I remember thinking that I wanted to work in a place like FSLH and soon after my husband recovered, I applied for a job and I am now a medical interpreter.”Tocakovic enjoys working as an interpreter because she knows what it is like to be in a hospital and not understand what is going on. When she had the opportunity to become an interpreter at FSLH, she knew it was what she wanted to do because she can help make a difference in people’s lives. Interpreters are evaluated by how well the patient is taken care of and if their needs are met. Maternity-specifically during delivery and discharge-is one of the departments that relies more heavily on the services of the interpreters. "We have to be sensitive not only to their language but to their culture, gender, and religion," said Poccia. So what is their motivation to maintain such busy schedules? Helping people. "Most patients that I interpret for are very thankful for the services that we provide and it makes me feel good to help them,” said Verenich. “In addition, I am learning a lot about the medical profession.” "We've received so much positive feedback,” said Poccia. “Patients’ faces light up when we walk into the room and are able to speak their language.” FSLH currently has several handouts available in Russian, Bosnian, Spanish and Vietnamese. They include print materials about NYS patient rights, patient discharge instructions, FSLH helpful information, fall alert, hand washing, smoking cessation, speaking-up when information is not clear, preventing infection, what you should know about your medication, advanced directives, uniform assignment sheets and health care proxy.Verenich, Kovac, and Tocakovic are also assisting with several translation projects such as using pictures for menu selections.For more information about the Language Assistance Program and their services, contact Ezio Poccia, Language Assistance Coordinator at 624-5242.