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Video Conferencing Resuscitates Hospitals' Interpreter Services: Page 10 of 12

First career: "Activist in the Philippines, fighting the Marcos dictatorship."

Next career: "I hope to retire and become a philanthropist."

The Hardsell

When the federal government speaks, hospitals that need interpreter services listen, especially when the feds talk about awarding grants. Such was the case when three California medical facilities needed funding to implement innovative language interpretation technology to improve communication between health-care professionals and patients.

With the help of two California congressmen, San Joaquin General Hospital, the Contra Costa Health Services and San Mateo Medical Center in 2004 landed a $500,000 grant from the Department of Commerce. It covered the costs to develop, deploy and maintain the Health Care Interpreter Network (HCIN), says Ken Cohen, San Joaquin General's director of health services.

Sixty percent to 70 percent of the hospitals' patients speak little or no English, putting a strain on existing interpreter services. The congressmen, Rep. Richard Pombo, D-Calif.,, and Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., played a key role in getting HCIN funded by "telling us about the grant and acting as advocates for us with the U.S. Department of Commerce," Cohen says.