CHEO to launch new 24/7 interpreter services app for patients, families, clinicians

By Danielle Bain

The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) is getting ready to launch a new language interpreting service app for patients, their families and clinicians, the hospital announced on Thursday, May 12. 

The service will be available any time of day, seven days a week, and is expected to provide users with a video or audio interpretation within 20 seconds of the request.

“Good, clear and accurate communication is essential to delivering exceptional care to any young person who needs it,” said Jill Sullivan, CHEO's director of patient experience, in a release. “A growing number of the children, youth and families who we work with do not speak English or French as their preferred language – and time matters.”

CHEO is partnering with Voyce, a company that provides on-demand language interpretation services for healthcare patients across a variety of technology and telehealth platforms in 240 languages and dialects. It's the first pediatric hospital in Canada to team up with Voyce to offer these types of services.

Although Voyce is expected to be a great new offering, it won't replace the in-person interpreters who provide care and cultural support for families throughout their visits at CHEO, according to Sullivan.

“We can't always get in-person interpretation on-site quickly due to availability and, even when we can, we need to factor in their travel time,” added Sullivan. “Voyce addresses this issue by offering virtual interpretation, shortening the time it takes to connect with an interpreter, sometimes from hours to seconds.”

The interpreters at the technology company are specifically trained to ensure interpretation accuracy and efficiency for healthcare settings.

“When patients enter the walls of a hospital without speaking one of the official languages, they are often at their most vulnerable state, and this is amplified with children and families,” said Andrew Royce, chief executive officer of Voyce. “Together with CHEO, we are able to offer comfort to patients with interpretation from real people who not only understand medical needs but can bring a sense of empathy to every conversation.”

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