TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo's largest healthcare system is rising to meet the needs of patients who may need treatment but may not necessarily speak fluent English.
Brissa Gonzalez is a mother of six. Gonzalez doesn't speak English, but still needs to communicate when taking her 11-year-old son with autism to verbal and behavioral therapy.
"It's necessary to have an interpreter in any clinic because it's tough. For me, it's a little tough," said Gonzalez in Spanish.
Gonzalez also says she's grateful her son's current doctor, at a clinic in Oregon, speaks Spanish. However, in the past she has missed appointments and check-ups for her son when they didn't have a translator available.
Dr. Brian Kaminski says the concern over language barriers is something that ProMedica has been working years to overcome.
"We have to offer alternatives so that people are communicating to us in their preferred language, so that items don't get lost in translation, because information tends to degrade if it isn't translated appropriately," explained Dr. Kaminski.
Right now, the hospital utilizes a video interactive service where the patient and medical provider can translate and communicate through an iPad. It's provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This is especially in high demand during a time when there is an ongoing pandemic that does not discriminate against anyone.
"Much of the information that we obtain comes from what patients tell us directly. And if we can't understand very precisely what they're saying, then that limits our ability to not only make a diagnosis, but our ability to give discharge instructions," said Dr. Kaminski.
For Gonzalez, being able to communicate with healthcare providers in Spanish ensures that her son will receive the therapy he needs as well as any future surgeries that could improve his hearing and speech.
"We battle a lot and that's why I haven't scheduled more appointments for him. It's not that I don't want to," said Gonzalez. "All this time I've taken him to operations and operations, but right now, I can't."