Language Line Services Introduces Next Generation of Video Interpreting Service for Health Care Providers

Company Joins With Industry Innovators Cisco and Paras & Associates to Launch Video Interpreter Network (VIN)

Monterey, CA — (February 27, 2007) — Language Line Services, the world’s leading provider of language-based services, today announced the launch of its next generation Video Interpreting Service that facilitates communication between health care providers and their hearing-impaired and limited English proficient patients. The company has joined forces with industry innovators Cisco and Paras & Associates to deliver the Video Interpreter Network (VIN), providing health care facilities with virtually instant access to specially trained medical interpreters in order to ensure clear communications with patients.

“Language Line Services has provided innovative language access services to our nation’s hospitals, including the leading over-the-phone interpretation products, for 25 years,” said Louis Provenzano, President and Chief Operating Officer of Language Line Services. “Recognizing the gap in delivery of quality health care services to the hearing-impaired, and the significant positive impact the addition of a visual connection has on accurate diagnosis of limited-English speaking patients, we made it a priority to develop a video interpreting system. We are proud to increase the capabilities of our video interpreting offering through this relationship with Cisco and Paras & Associates.”

Some 80 percent of U.S. hospitals said they frequently treat patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), according to a recent report by the Health Research & Educational Trust. Most hospitals try to get by with staff interpreters, bilingual clinical staff or telephonic services. Provenzano noted that because of the growing LEP population, there are often long wait times for in-person interpreters and while telephone-based services meet the needs of most multilingual patients, there are still communications barriers they can’t overcome.

“With an on-camera interpretation solution, health care providers benefit from a patient’s body language and facial expressions, helping them gain a better sense of the patient's understanding and improve the accuracy of a diagnosis,” said Melinda Paras, CEO of Paras & Associates and the architect of the Video Interpreter Network. “Backed by Language Line Services’ infrastructure of expertly trained medical interpreters and powered by a Cisco network, the Video Interpreter Network will greatly enhance the quality of health care services at our nation’s medical institutions.”

The Video Interpreter Network units are user-friendly and can be positioned at nursing stations throughout the hospital. The implementation process is also streamlined and includes access to Paras & Associates’ consulting services to plan, purchase and install appropriate video and telephone devices across an entire hospital system. Other key benefits of the Video Interpreter Network include:

• Instant access to trained health care interpreters for physicians and staff, with average connection times under 30 seconds;
• Comprehensive language coverage including American Sign Language, with 24-7 service in conjunction with Language Line Services;
• Cost savings to hospitals due to the reduced cost-per-minute charges for ASL and other language interpreters;
• 100 percent access at every point of patient care in a hospital combining video and telephone devices connected to a single call center service; and
• Opportunities to collaborate with other hospitals within a system or geographic area, by sharing trained interpreters and making use of an economy of scale.

For more information about the Video Interpreter Network please contact Jeanette Anders, Language Line Services Health Care Director, at JAnders@LanguageLine.com or 877-584-2545.

About Paras & Associates

Based in Emeryville, Calif., Paras & Associates offers a unique managed service of Video Language Interpreter Networks for interpretation services in hospitals, government, education, the hospitality industry and all customer service lines. Visit www.parasandassociates.net for more information.

About Language Line Services

As the leading provider of interpreting services to health care organizations throughout the United States, Language Line Services, trains and certifies its interpreters specifically for health care situations to insure quality interpretations in medical diagnosis, treatment and preventative care. The company delivers a dynamic suite of solutions spanning phone and video interpretation, document translation, interactive software-based translation, and interpreter training and certification programs, enabling clients to communicate with customers in their preferred language. Through its leading-edge technology infrastructure, Language Line Services delivers support for over 170 unique languages to its industry-leading portfolio of clients across markets including health care, financial services, government, telecom, packaged goods, insurance services, travel, and more. For information on how Language Line Services is helping clients achieve their strategic multicultural marketing and regulatory compliance objectives, please call 1-800-752-6096 or visit www.languageline.com .