Limited English Proficiency

It is the policy of Winn Parish Medical Center to provide communication aids to the sensory impaired, including the blind and hearing impaired, as well as, LEP persons to ensure a meaningful opportunity to apply for, receive or participate in, or benefit from the services offered, as well as employment at no cost to person(s) being served.  The decision as to the method to be used for communication requires the input of the patient and their choice must be given weight.  Failure to properly assess and subsequently provide these services is punishable by fine to the provider.

To achieve this, Winn Parish Medical Center employees will inform sensory impaired and LEP persons and any sensory impaired or LEP relatives of patients of the availability of, at no cost to them, language and sign-language interpreters, telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD), captioning and other auxiliary aids and provide such services promptly upon request

Winn Parish Medical Center will provide qualified sign-language interpreters and other auxiliary aids to sensory-impaired persons where necessary to afford such persons an equal opportunity to benefit from the services provided.

Winn Parish Medical Center will provide a list of languages for LEP persons to choose their preference.  An interpreter for the preferred language will be requested by calling Language Line Services at (800) 752-6096 or via their web site www.languageline.com for interpretation of their language.

Language and Sign-Language Interpreter

1. If you recognize or have any reason to believe a patient, relative, friend or companion of a patient, or any other person using hospital services, is deaf or hard-of-hearing or a LEP person, you must offer to call a interpreter for that person and you must advise the person that the interpreter and/or other appropriate auxiliary aids and services will be provided at hospital expense.  This offer and advice must likewise be made to any overt request for a sign-language interpreter and/or any other auxiliary aids or services.
2. If a patient/surrogate decision-maker requests an interpreter, Winn Parish Medical Center must legally provide the service.
3. The contacted staff member will document in the medical record that assistance has been provided or offered
4. The charge nurse or department manager should request the interpreter.
5. Any request to use family or friends by the hearing-impaired or LEP person following the offer by the provider to provide an interpreter at no charge will be documented in the patient record.  This request will be honored unless the facility feels the person selected is not sufficiently qualified and elects to provide another interpreter.  This will be documented in the patient record.
6. No payment will be made by the provider when the person volunteers his or her own resources.
7. The provider may exercise discretion as to when an interpreter is necessary since routine care may not require extensive communication.
8. For scheduled admissions and appointments, arrangements must be made in advance to ensure that an interpreter will be present when the deaf or hard-of-hearing or LEP person arrives for treatment.
9. All contact with an interpreter must be documented in patient charts.
10. All medical and psychiatric evaluations or discussions regarding a patient’s symptoms, diagnosis, progress and prognosis must be communicated through the use of a qualified interpreter.

Family members, friends, advocates, case managers and other people who are at the hospital to support the patient are not appropriate or qualified interpreters, regardless of their abilities.  Asking such persons to interpret denies the patient the support they need and compromises the accuracy and effectiveness of Winn Parish Medical Center staff communications with the patient.  If a deaf or hard-of hearing or LEP person nevertheless refuses our offer of a free qualified interpreter and prefers to use a friend or family member to interpret, the hospital shall secure a written “Waiver of Interpreter Services”.