In part 1 of this series, I examined the importance of hospitals providing deaf awareness, cultural and sensitivity trainings. During this second part, we will cover the need for reliable, reputable interpreting and captioning referral agencies to support hospitals in ensuring effective communication is provided.

Selecting the wrong interpreting/captioning agencies

Prior to my father’s official diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, he was admitted into the hospital for extensive testing.

A few long days later, the oncologist delivered the results. During this conversation with the oncologist, a sign language interpreter was there for my father and me. While the interpreter had the necessary minimum credentials to interpret in medical settings in the state of Illinois, the interpreter was a newer interpreter and not equipped for the severity of this type of assignment.

While the doctor was delivering his diagnosis, the interpreter botched signs and was unable to keep up with the doctor.

This tested my father’s patience quickly.

He immediately told the interpreter to leave the room and asked me to start interpreting.

I am a Deaf person with some residual hearing. I also do not have any training in medical interpreting, let alone interpreting.

Yet, in this moment, I was my father’s son and his interpreter.

Essentially, I had to tell my father he was being diagnosed with Stage IV Multiple Myeloma and needed to start treatment immediately. At the same time, I was dealing with a plethora of emotions resulting from being told my own father was being diagnosed with an incurable cancer.

There were many questions my father and I had for the doctor, but the doctor grew rapidly impatient with me asking him to repeat what he was saying. He abruptly left us with several pamphlets, told us to review them, and to schedule an appointment with his office after being discharged.

We never saw this doctor again.

Having an unqualified interpreter or captionist present is not better than having nothing.

Acting on this temptation is a lot more expensive than you may think, particularly when considering the impact on patient care and safety, as well as the comfort of medical staff and patients.

To this end, hospitals are in the business of providing high-quality health care. Like any other business, hospitals need to be fiscally responsible. This may result in hospitals implementing cost cutting measures to reduce expenses and improve profitability.

This includes hospitals pitting interpreting and/or captioning referral agencies against each other to get the lowest bid with little or no regard for the quality of services provided.

As a result, horror stories are prominent within the Deaf community.

In a February 2015 article highlighting concerns with Oregon-based hospitals, Philip Wolfe’s testimony to the Oregon House Health Committee about his experiences with unqualified interpreters in an Emergency Room was quoted: “These interpreters (they) sent were not qualified because they were cheap. If they had used a different, more expensive agency, they would have qualified interpreters for the situation I was in.”

Nick and Kris Runge’s concerns with a Colorado-based interpreting agency were highlighted in an article from June 2015. Regarding her complex course of fertility treatment, Kris shared, “I don’t want to mess up with the medication. If they give me an unqualified interpreter and I follow what that person misinterpreted, it could cause damage to my body… that [miscommunication] could be a threat to any deaf patient’s life.”

Meanwhile, a 2006 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed the “prevalence of fair or poor health status, difficulties with physical functioning, and serious psychological distress increased with degree of hearing loss.” Further, the study shows adults who were deaf or have significant hearing loss “were about three times as likely as adults with good hearing to be in fair or poor health and to have difficulty with physical functioning (such as walking, bending, reaching, etc).”

Skimping out on communication access may compromise the quality of patient care for an already marginalized population. Consequently, this practice may reduce hospital’s throughput, decrease efficiency, and, ultimately, increase the amount of money hospitals spend on auxiliary aids and services due to patient re-admissions, as well as increase legal risks.

In sum, what saves you money now may not save you money in the long run.

Move beyond providing some sort of accommodation and become accessible via providing qualified sign language interpreters and captionists. This requires you to work with the right agencies.

Your patients and staff members will thank you.