More than 240 million calls are made to 911 call centers each year. While emergency services professionals deal with urgent situations every day, a language barrier can heighten an already stressful event for all parties. What happens when the emergency caller doesn’t speak English? In the United States today, language service providers, like Telelanguage, provide on-demand access to certified medical interpreters who are ready to join emergency calls to bridge language barriers for emergency callers.
That’s exactly what happened on June 18th, 2019, when Mario Arroyo and Carmen Gomez – a Spanish-speaking couple in Metro Atlanta – called 911 after Gomez went into labor at 32 weeks. Telelanguage medical interpreter, Juan Batista, was there in seconds to interpret the call in Spanish.
According to the report from CBS46 News by Melissa Stern:
“I told the dispatcher, I need somebody who speaks Spanish…hurry up!” joked Mario Arroyo.
Arroyo wasn’t home. His wife called to tell him she was in labor, and he rushed home.
“I found her with the baby in the living room,” Arroyo said.
Arroyo called 911 and a Roswell dispatcher walked him through the steps with the help of certified medical interpreter, Juan Batista, all the way in New Jersey.
On Saturday, July 20th, CBS46 reunited the couple with Telelanguage certified medical interpreter, Juan Batista, and the 911 dispatcher who helped them deliver their baby.
Arroyo and Gomez said that despite the language barrier, they’re so thankful to know they can count on 911 and the interpreters.
Juan Batista, the Telelanguage interpreter that was connected to the call, understood the father’s worry. “He was concerned, and not being in a medical setting was challenging,” said Batista, “…but this is what makes the job worth it.”
CBS46 also reported that Arroyo and Gomez’s baby boy, Iker Angel, is still in the NICU, but doctors say he is fine and is expected to go home next week.
Andre Mon Belle, Co-President of Telelanguage, highlighted why experiences like this are so important to Telelanguage’s customers, clients and community. “Stories like this really reinforce why we do what we do,” said Mon Belle. “We were founded in the healthcare industry, and our passion is helping people and making services accessible to everyone. To be able to serve this couple in a professional and compassionate way turned a potentially scary and dangerous situation into a positive and joyous outcome.”
Since its implementation, 911 has been an invaluable service linking the American public to emergency services. The men and women serving at 911 across the country provide a critical step for emergency response. Interpreting during 911 emergency calls is one of the most skilled and difficult forms of interpretation. When language barriers arise during emergencies, quick connection to a certified medical interpreter can save lives.
Medical interpreters help reduce response time and ensure accuracy in the emergency services industry. In the United States today, even if a 911 operator speaks the language of the caller, it is required that a certified interpreter joins the call to ensure accuracy.
Just as we put our trust in the hands of 911 Emergency Services, when you are communicating with a Limited English Proficient (LEP) individual, or non-English speaking individual in an emergency situation, a dedicated language service provider, like Telelanguage, provides the language support you need when seconds matter – 24/7, 365 days a year.
As a trusted name in language services since 1991, Telelanguage has been a leading provider of language interpretation and translation services for the healthcare industry and emergency services for over 28 years, offering the fastest interpreter connect times to U.S. based medically certified interpreters in over 300 languages. With 5,000+ interpreters around the United States, Telelanguage supports organizations nationwide (across all industries).
Telelanguage offers a complete package of language services to fit clients’ needs: On-site Interpretation, Over-the-Phone Interpretation, Video Remote Interpretation and Document Translation. Whether it’s an emergency situation, or a meeting planned in advance, Telelanguage’s network of 5,000+ professional interpreters and translators are ready to provide communication and understanding.
Photos and Video Source: CBS46
About Telelanguage, Inc.
Telelanguage has been providing customers with the highest quality of language service since 1991. They support over 350 languages, 24x7x365 utilizing 6,000+ U.S.-based interpreters. Telelanguage currently supports over 8,000 accounts around the world – in all industries. Services include over-the-phone, on-site and video remote interpretation, as well as document translations, interpreter management and scheduling, reporting, invoicing, language assessment evaluations, and much more.
