Language Line Services Expands Video Interpretation Service to Include Mexican Sign Language (Lengua de Señas Mexicana)

Availability of ASL and LSM Enhances Patient Experience for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

TUCSON, AZ – (April 2, 2009) – Language Line Services, the world’s leading provider of language solutions, today announced the addition of Mexican Sign Language or Lengua de Señas Mexicana (LSM), the dominant language of the deaf community in the urban regions of Mexico, to the Language Line® Video Interpreter Service offering.

Language Line Services introduced its video interpreter service in 2004. Today, hospitals and clinics in more than 20 states use the Language Line Video Interpreter Service to achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and that number is expected to grow with the addition of LSM to the offering.

The ADA requires all hospitals to provide effective means of communications for patients, family members, and hospital visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing.  Language Line Services’ Video Interpreter Service provides deaf patients and medical caregivers with quick connection to live, certified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters, and now LSM interpreters, 24 hours a day, every day. Accessible via the “Rover,” a portable video monitor, an interpreter appears on the monitor directly in front of the patient, allowing registration and other vital patient information to be communicated in the privacy of the patient’s room or in multiple locations within a medical facility.

 “The Language Line® Video Interpreter Service has been a welcomed solution for many hospitals that were struggling to efficiently and affordably meet the needs of their deaf patient s,” said Language Line Services President and COO Louis Provenzano, who noted that on average it costs $85 an hour to engage an on-site ASL interpreter and usually requires a two-hour minimum fee.

“We believe Mexican Sign Language is an important addition to our service offering for healthcare organizations across the country, but especially in border cities in the southern regions of California, Arizona and Texas, where immigration in the last five years has driven demand.”

In addition to ASL and LSM, the Language Line Video Interpreter Service is also available for Spanish interpretation.  Language Line Services employs only qualified medically trained interpreters who are able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially using the specialized vocabulary required in a medical setting.

“Video interpreting allows our patients round-the-clock access to American Sign Language interpreters and has been an invaluable addition to our language access services since 2005,” noted Jonathan Hirsch, Director of Guest Services with Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, NJ, the first hospital to use the video interpreter service. “I’m very pleased to know that this often life-saving service has been expanded to a wider audience of limited-English speakers.”

For more information on Language Line® Video Interpreter Service and the availability of Lengua de Señas Mexicana (LSM), or to subscribe to the service, please contact Ken Anders at (800) 731-6437 or kanders@languageline.com .

Key Statistics: American Sign Language’s (ASL) and Lengua de Señas Mexicana’s (LSM) Growing Importance

• More than 20 million Americans are classified as either deaf or hard of hearing, according to Gallaudet University.  
• Two million Americans use ASL to communicate and ASL is the fourth most utilized language in the United States.
• In 2003, Mexican Sign Language (LSM) was officially declared a "national language" in Mexico, alongside Spanish and indigenous languages, to be used in the national education system for the deaf.
• LSM is the preferred language of more than 87,000 individuals in the urban areas of Mexico.
• U.S.-based LSM interpreters have seen a marked increase in the demand for LSM interpreting, growing four-fold between 2006 and 2008.

About Language Line Services

Language Line Services, the world’s leading provider of language-based services, is a trusted partner to thousands of organizations whose focus is to effectively serve the rapidly expanding market of limited English proficient speakers.

The company delivers a dynamic suite of solutions spanning phone, on-site and video interpreting, translation, transcription, localization and localized software and devices and the only medical interpreter certification program that is externally validated.

Through its leading-edge technology infrastructure, Language Line Services provides support for more than 170 spoken languages and American Sign Language to its industry-leading portfolio of clients across markets including health care, financial services, government, telecom, manufacturing, insurance, entertainment, travel, and more.

For information on how Language Line Services is helping clients achieve their strategic multi-cultural marketing and regulatory compliance objectives, please call 1-800-752-6096 or visit www.languageline.com/news_room.