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Hospital translators at the push of a button

By The Olympian  
   February 15, 2013

A woman walked into Providence St. Peter Hospital last week in search of her husband, brought in earlier by ambulance. The woman couldn't speak English. Hospital staff called for a bilingual chaplain, who was unfamiliar with her dialect. Although the woman was eventually assisted, the hospital has gone to new lengths to ensure patients can be helped immediately. Cue Martti, a mobile translation unit that with a push of a button connects hospital staff and patients to call centers in Ohio and California, according to hospital spokesperson Chris Thomas. The call centers are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with translators fluent in 208 languages, including American Sign Language.

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