| BMH
Installs New System for Deaf Interpreters
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is now using a system
called Deaf Talk to ‘speak’ with hard of
hearing patients and/or family members of patients.
Deaf Talk provides a video-conferencing American Sign
Language interpretation service, available 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week for our patients and caregivers.
The interpreters are specially trained to provide medical
information in a way that is understandable and clear
to the patient and family.
Using state-of-the-art, mobile video-conference equipment,
Deaf Talk brings interpretation services right where
they are needed: in the Emergency Department, at the
patient’s beside, or at a meeting with a medical
team. In just a few short minutes from the time of need,
an internet connection can be established to the remote
interpreter who can be seen on the portable video screen
which has been moved to the bedside of the patient.
Federal regulations require that healthcare facilities
provide equal access to services for the disabled. BMH
strongly supports this goal. For deaf and hard of hearing
patients, this means interpreters and adaptive equipment
made available at critical points in a hospital stay
or visit. These critical points can be admission, discharge,
any time medical information is communicated or medical
procedures are explained, or when informed consent for
treatment is obtained.
Patients are in the best position to determine the
type of interpretation they want to support their needs.
They are the final judge as to what type of interpreter
is best suited to their health care needs. As such,
they may request an in-person interpreter or our free
video-conferencing interpretation service for the hard
of hearing (Deaf Talk). BMH has identified an opportunity
for improvement because, inasmuch as in-person interpreters
often take hours to arrange for and then to arrive,
the new Deaf Talk system provides on-the-spot service.
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