Over two days in January 1973, a non-English speaking mother brought her critically sick baby into a Hartford, Connecticut emergency room. She begged for a Spanish-speaking doctor and none was available. The third day, the baby died in a police cruiser on the way back to the hospital that was unable to communicate with her mother. The baby girl's death was preventable, as she died from dehydration.
Although changes have been made in Harford's health care system and there have been strides made to assist its Latino community, three decades after the baby girl died due to a language barrier, some things have still not changed.
There are 22,000 low-income residents in the area that do not speak English. This means many will remain misunderstood when they arrive at hospitals and clinics for medical care. Funding has been cut by the city government for medical interpretation services, a move many disagree with.
In fact, this financial cut will create a large cost in human lives, therefore, many are advocating that the state needs an efficient, effective, and high-quality system the will provide direct translation along with cultural sensitivity.
10 March 2009
