Area Hospitals/Please respond

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Christina Curry <cexec@hilc.org>
> Date: March 12, 2007 3:57:00 PM PST
> Subject: Area Hospitals/Please respond
>
>
> Greetings to you all.
>
> Need your assistance as usual….
>
> As you might have heard by now, Harlem ILC is working with an  outside
> agency regarding hospitals that are not providing effective
> communication for the Deaf, HOH community (this is different from  what
> DHIS is spearheading).
>
> With that said, HILC is in the process of compiling a list of all  the
> hospitals in the five boroughs (or as many as possible) that do  not
> have any interpreters, the hospitals that have at least one and  so
> on…
>
> According to the hospitals we’ve called..as of now everyone is
> compliant and has an interpreter on call… that is why I am asking
> each of you to tell me what the hospitals are not…
>
> I thank all of you for whatever information you can provide…just
> need to know the name of the hospital and if they in fact have a  live
> person or at the very least have been known to call an outside
> agency…
>
> Christina Curry/Harlem ILC

DTFNYC Leader’s note: Please send the information to Christina Curry
at  cexec@hilc.org

Christina:

The ONLY HOSPITALS with staff interpreters of which I am aware are
Bellevue (Harry), NYU (Jodi) and St. Vincent (Gloria).

The other hospitals believe they are compliant and have an  interpreter
because they know of the telephone number of the  interpreting agency or
VRI agency to contact if an interpreter is  needed OR  because they have
identified a staff member who knows some  sign language or has a deaf
family member so knows some words thus  this person “interprets” for
them when necessary.

These recognized persons are NEVER screened by an interpreting agency
or organizaion to determine their level of skill. They accept to use
them solely based on their comments of their skills during they  polling
of staff to determine other languages spoken amongst staff.  Their
individuals primary role is not as an interpreter for the  hospital,
they are not skilled nor professionally training and  thereby violate
many of the interpreting Code of Conduct.

Sorry for the wordiness of these email, I merely wanted to issue you
understand my comments and thoughts.

Kathleen D. Taylor, MA, CI/CT, NAD
Cert. American Sign Language Interpreter
NAOBI-NYC President
718-789-3509
917-407-6771
www.KDTterpASL.com