Document Translation/Foreign Language Interpreting Services
To provide excellent, quality care to our patients, University Policy requires that UMDNJ ensure effective communication with limited English proficient persons to ensure their equal access to health, medical, behavioral health and social service programs, benefits and services. A large percentage of patients cared for by UMDNJ/University Hospital are not proficient in the English language, whether it is verbal or written. Over one hundred languages are interpreted verbally and over twenty patient consent forms and other documents are translated into a minimum of twenty different languages.
Various vendors currently provide translation/interpreting services to UMDNJ. Several hundred phone calls are made by University Hospital for interpreting services per month. UMDNJs annual translation/interpreting expenditures are approximately $700,000 per year.
The most frequently translated and interpreted language is Spanish. Over 40% of the patient population is of Hispanic origin. Recently, the Portuguese (Portugal dialect) and Haitian Creole languages have become more frequently used languages as well. Due to the influx of non-english speaking patients, the need for interpreting/translation services has become greater.
