VIA Announces 2014 Translation Grant Program Recipients

PORTLAND, Ore. - Nov. 18, 2014 - PRLog -- VIA (http://viadelivers.com/), a leading provider of translation and localization services, is pleased to announce the winners of its sixth annual Translation Grant Program, which honors healthcare organizations that seek to improve healthcare access of underserved, ethnic communities. This year's recipients are Memorial Hospital of South Bend (http://www.qualityoflife.org/) and Maui Memorial Medical Center (http://www.mauimemorialmedical.org/). The organizations will each receive $1,500 of in-kind translation services.

The VIA Translation Grant is a unique in-kind donation program awarding translation services to organizations actively working to improve health or access to healthcare for their ethnic and/or limited English proficiency (LEP) communities. According to the Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities, LEP and minority populations are more likely to have chronic disease, lack health insurance and have difficulties communicating with healthcare providers, even if qualified as highly literate in their primary language. Language services, such as translation and interpretation, can improve health care quality, the patient experience, adherence to recommended care, and ultimately health outcomes for these LEP populations.

“The number of people living in the U.S. who speak a language other than English at home and need information in their own language in order to navigate the healthcare system and get the services they need continues to grow,” said Karen Donovan, VP of Sales, Healthcare & Corporate, VIA. “We are so thankful for the opportunity to support these two healthcare organizations in their efforts to remove language barriers and improve access to healthcare for their local LEP communities."

Maui Memorial Medical Center has a long and proud history of serving the Maui community where 24% of residents report they speak a language other than English at home. To meet the needs of its growing LEP population they are working to translate materials about how to prepare for surgery, what happens the day of surgery, patient safety and more.

Memorial Hospital of South Bend’s Minority Outreach program was created to focus upon improving delivery of health services for its growing LEP population. They are seeing a drastic increase in Arabic speaking patients who are dealing with diabetes and are working to provide educational materials that are culturally and linguistically appropriate for this community.

“Like many other hospitals across the country, Memorial Hospital of South Bend is dealing with dramatic shifts in the linguist and cultural needs of its patients and customers,” said Leonora Oates de Battani Manager, Language Services & Minority Outreach. “For example, our “Healthy Diabetics” program is committed to providing free education and case management for all community members that have diabetes that are uninsured or underinsured, are members of a minority group and/or speak a language other than English. In particular, this grant will help us to support the growing number of Arabic speaking patients who are suffering from diabetes in their own language.”