Resource:

Florida Hospital: Reducing Call Time and Increasing Quality in Language

Case Study

Challenge: Care Continuum  

Content provided by AHA Endorsement partner: CyraCom, LLC.

Florida Hospital (FH) decided to officially implement CyraCom's language services, citing interpretation quality and reduced call time as major factors.

Florida Hospital is a 2,188 bed, multi-hospital system located in Central Florida with more than 2,000 physicians and 15,000 employees. For over 100 years, FH has been committed to providing superior health care services:

  • Leads research at its Cancer Institute, which treats more newly diagnosed cancer patients than any other hospital in the state
  • Treats more than 70,000 patients per year at its Cardiovascular Institute, a nationally recognized leader in the fight against heart disease
  • Assists thousands of patients at its Diabetes Institute, one of the top 50 best diabetic care programs in the country according to US News & World Report rankings
  • Helps treat neurological and spinal illnesses and injuries at its Neuroscience Institute, a program leading the education, treatment, research and care of such issues

 

For improving health care in Florida and remaining committed to its patient values, FH received the prestigious Governor’s Sterling Award for 2010, the highest award an organization can receive for performance excellence in the state.

Community Profile
Florida has a diverse population, with 25.8% speaking a language other than English at home and 22.5% speaking Spanish, among other languages, according to 2010 Census data. In the cities of Altamonte Springs, Orlando, Apopka and Kissimmee, where FH has campuses, the Limited English Proficient population is exceptionally large. Jean Aldridge, Coordinator of Interpreter Services, says: “At some of our hospital campuses, the non-English speaking patient base approaches 50%, with Spanish, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Arabic being our most requested languages.

Language Services a Requirement
As a result, providing language services has become necessary for FH, as Aldridge notes, “Part of our mission is to extend health care to all people, including those who don’t speak English. Languages services are an integral part of what we do.”

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