Back to Annual Meeting

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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Bruce Occena, MPH, MBA, Health Access Foundation, 2830 21st Street # 7, San Pablo, CA 94806, Gloria Garcia-Orme, RN, MS, Interpreter Services Department, San Francisco General Hospital, 1001 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94103, and Janice Chin, MPH, Interpreter Services Department, Alameda County Medical Center, 1411 East 31st Street, Oakland, CA 94602, 510 437 4484, jchin@acmedctr.org.

Since 2002, a collaboration between Alameda County Medical Center and San Francisco General Hospital has introduced medical interpretation services via mobile, videoconference units and “beta” tested this innovative technology on a wide-scale, routine basis – with over 10,000 successful transmissions. The development of this technological enhancement for both institutions' interpreter services departments is allowing two public hospitals to share human resources as well as specialized services in an unprecedented, potentially large scale model. The implementation of technology enhancement and sharing of resources between two large hospital systems allowed for a complete redesign of a department and service which had wide spread impacts on service implementation throughout the hospital system. This presentation will provide a case study of organization change through the unlikely catalyst of a technology enhancement, the staff development that resulted, the system-wide changes in healthcare provision, and the key lessons learned throughout the process.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate the organizational redesign of an interpreter services department in a public hospital system.
• Identify the success, challenges and lessons of change in a large public hospital system.

Keywords: College Students,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No