How a Colorado Hospital Bridges the Language Divide for Better Care
A rural Colorado hospital trains its bilingual staff to serve as medical interpreters, improving health outcomes for non-English speaking patients.
Improving patient care is a top priority for healthcare providers, but language barriers can make that challenging. For non-English speakers, the lack of qualified interpreters at doctor's offices can lead to bad or even fatal health outcomes. However, one rural Colorado hospital is taking steps to address this critical gap.
Grand River Health, located in Rifle, Colorado, has implemented a program to train its existing bilingual staff to serve as medical interpreters. Jen Quevedo, who works at the hospital, now divides her time between her regular duties and interpreting for patients who don't speak English.
Source: NPR
