First Posted: 7/31/2014
What it really translates to is respect.
That’s what Gloria Blandina, director of the Care & Concern Free Health Clinic, says about a newly acquired computer that will translate some 185 languages into English, 35 of them with a live person on the screen.
It’s called a MARTTI, for My Accessible Real-Time Trusted Interpreter.
“It’s been on the top of my wish list,” said Blandina, who pointed to a night at the clinic when of the 40 people who showed up for care, one spoke Portuguese, one Arabic and another an Asian language. “The only way we could communicate was pointing. ‘Is this where it hurts?’ We all did our best, but they deserved better.”
Blandina said she became aware of the MARTTI through Gloria Ruckno, who manages the 140 MARTTIs in use at Geisinger Medical Center and had hoped to find a grant to fund it for the free clinic.
“The computer isn’t that expensive, about $1800,” Blandina said, “but there’s a monthly usage fee of about $1000. We can’t afford that.”
Enter Leadership Wilkes-Barre.
“A young man from the Leadership Wilkes-Barre class came to see me and asked what they could do for the clinic,” Blandina said. “I was hesitant at first but he kept asking, ‘What do you need?’ So, I told him, ‘If you really want to know, it’s a MARTTI.’”
Blandina said purchasing equipment isn’t exactly what Leadership projects are all about, but with the help of the Leadership group, Geisinger got involved and now the device is up and running at the clinic.
“The cost to us to connect is $1.75 a minute,” Blandina said. “And the results are invaluable.”
Seeing the device in action “gives you chills,” Blandina said.
The first night the computer was in use, a woman came in who did not speak English. Blandina described what took place: “We bring her to the computer screen and she points to a map showing us her native land. India. Then she points to a list of languages. Punjabi. Then an operator comes on the screen and we say the language we need translated. The next person we see is medically trained in the language and she assists us with the patient.”
Blandina said there are 35 languages that can be translated by a live person and another 150 that are translated via audio alone.
“Our population is getting more and more diversified,” Blandina said, “and one of our goals, in addition to providing medical service, of course, is to help clients maintain their self-respect and dignity. This lets us do that.”
The Care & Concern Free Health Clinic is under the auspices of Saint John the Evangelist Parish and operates in the former Seton Catholic High School building on William Street in Pittston. Since opening in November 2007, the clinic has conducted more than 8,100 patient visits and has seen more than 3,400 individual patients.
The clinic is open every Wednesday evening with patient registration from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Some 24 volunteers, including physicians, practitioners, registered nurses and others, serve 30 patients or more every Wednesday.
