[July 31, 2009] Machines translate for hospital: Paid for with proceeds from spring gala Tweet Jul 31, 2009 (The Daily Southerner - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Thanks to two new machines, Heritage Hospital in Tarboro can make patients who speak languages other than English "feel better" during their stay. The two MARTTI (My Accessible Real-Time Trusted Interpreter) machines have been at Heritage Hospital since the beginning of this month. Costing $11,000 each, Heritage Hospital Development Council Chairman Billy Barnes said the proceeds from the hospital's April fund-raising gala paid completely for both machines. "This stood out as a legitimate need" for what the gala's funds could be spent on at the hospital, Barnes said. Before the gala, Barnes said the council's talk with Heritage's emergency room manager Ginger Gay "really convinced us" the hospital could use the services the machines had to offer. Since the machines arrived this month, Staff Nurse Amanda Benson said they have been a better option for people with limited English-speaking abilities than the phone service hospital staff exclusively relied on in the past. "We have used it a lot; we love it," she added. Instead of using translation software, the MARTTI machines display a live translation attendant on their screens, where the patients, nurses and doctors can see the person in real-time. Translation attendants through the MARTTIs' call center service are available in 150 different languages every day of the week. Sign language can be used through the machine as well. "Looking at somebody, it makes (the patients) feel better" Barnes said, especially since the machines have been used mainly in the child labor and emergency departments so far. Within the past week, Benson said the hospital delivered babies for two Spanish-speaking women using the MARTTIs. The hospital also had a Russian-speaking patient come in, although the machine was not used to treat them, said Heritage's Marketing Director Erin Grimsley. With the phone system the hospital had to rely on before the new machines, Benson said the wait was around five minutes to start talking to a translation attendant. And "trying to give commands, like 'push,'" over the phone during labor was a difficult situation for patients, she added. "You need somebody to translate right then" when dealing with child labor, Benson said. She also said she likes that the machines are wireless. The MARTTIs battery charges last between six and eight hours according to the manufacturer, Language Access Network. To see more of The Daily Southerner or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://dailysoutherner.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]