September 11 Digital Archive

Lack of interpreters harms immigrant patients, charges community organization

Title

Lack of interpreters harms immigrant patients, charges community organization

Source

born-digital

Media Type

article

Original Name

Latino immigrants protested of the lack of interpreters in public Brooklyn hospitals last month, aft

Created by Author

yes

Described by Author

no

Date Entered

2002-02-22

VTMBH Article: Edition

9

VTMBH Article: Article Order

3

VTMBH Article: Title

Lack of interpreters harms immigrant patients, charges community organization

VTMBH Article: Author

Ana Ledo

VTMBH Article: Publication

El Diario / La Prensa

VTMBH Article: Original Language

Spanish

VTMBH Article: Translator

Telesh Lopez

VTMBH Article: Section

news

VTMBH Article: Blurb

Latino immigrants protested of the lack of interpreters in public Brooklyn hospitals last month, after the Brooklyn community organization Make the Road by Walking released a report detailing immigrants inability to communicate with their doctors.

VTMBH Article: Keywords

VTMBH Article: Body

Dozens of Latino immigrants protested discrimination against Spanish-speaking people by Brooklyn hospitals on Thursday, Feb. 21.
The community organization Make the Road by Walking organized the protest in front of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center after releasing a report detailing immigrants inability to communicate with their doctors because hospitals lack interpreters.
The report included interviews with patients at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center and Wyckoff, the majority of whom were unable to communicate with healthcare providers.
According to a representative of Make the Road by Walking, the majority of the 145 interviewed for the report said neither hospital informed them of their right to interpretation.
Juana Alvarez, a Mexican woman and member of Make the Road by Walking, said because of the lack of interpretation, she was unable to tell doctors that she was pregnant and suffering a hemorrhage. Ultimately, she lost her baby.
I waited too long to be seen. There was no one who spoke Spanish. I couldnt communicate with anyone. I tried to explain to the doctor that I was giving birth but he didnt understand me. The baby was born and fell off the bed, Alvarez said. What I lost that day because of lack of interpretation services will never be recovered, she added.
Josefina Marín, a Mexican woman, said because she couldnt communicate with emergency room doctors at Woodhull Medical Center, she was accused of neglecting her youngest son, of whom she lost custody for a month.
My son needed x-rays and we had to wait almost 12 hours to be seen. When we were seen by the doctor, he told me that they did not offer the treatment my son needed. I was accused of abusing my son and they opened a case, Marin said.
Representatives of Wyckoff Medical Center denied these accusations and indicated that the institution offers interpreting services and information in English and Spanish.
These allegations are very unjust and untrue. We have a committee which focuses on the needs of the Hispanic community, said Yamil Pujols, assistant to the director of internal relations at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, who indicated that yesterday the hospital tried to meet with the representatives of the Make the Road by Walking but they refused to speak with us.
Andrew Friedman, an organizer with the community group, denied the accusations. He indicated that the representatives of Wyckoff offered to speak to them but arrived in an inopportune time when our attorney and our members were not present.
Woodhull Hospital denied the complaints, adding that they do provide translation services to their patients.

VTMBH Article: Line Breaks

1

VTMBH Article: Date

2002-02-22

VTMBH Article: Thumb

VTMBH Article: Article File

n3.doc

VTMBH Article: Hit Count

71

Citation

“Lack of interpreters harms immigrant patients, charges community organization,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 8, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/1455.