Paras and Associates

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11.15.2009 - Kaiser Award for Paras-built Interpreter Network A video interpreter network designed and maintained by Paras and Associates (PAA) has won a coveted award for the Kaiser Permanente facilities that implemented it. The medical centers in Fremont and Hayward, California won the R.J. Erickson Diversity Achievement Award for their accomplishment in creating the Kaiser Permanente Interpreter Network (KPIN). The Erickson Awards, announced at the annual Kaiser Permanente National Diversity Conference, are "presented to individuals, groups, and facilities across Kaiser Permanente that champion outstanding diversity initiatives." Kaiser's Greater Southern Alameda Area, in the San Francisco bay area, has one of the most linguistically diverse patient populations in the region, as well as an unusually high proportion of deaf members. The medical centers employ full-time interpreters in Spanish, Cantonese/Mandarin and American Sign Language, but clinicians were concerned about the wait times to access a fully-trained interpreter. Administrators began working with Paras and Associates in 2007, and KPIN went live at the Fremont Medical Center in early 2008. Facilities in nearby Union City and Hayward followed in 2009. As a result of these efforts, the nominators noted: Today, clinicians are able to access a diverse pool of qualified, professional interpreters at the touch of a button. The platform of remote video interpretation has elevated the potential of tele-health initiatives for the future. Those who may not have been previously compelled to diversity have gained an interest by witnessing the crucial role of technology in providing the highest quality of care and service to all of our members and patients, regardless of which language they speak. Clinicians can access KPIN using a dedicated mobile video cart or, for spoken languages, by dialing K-P-I-N on a conventional telephone. Interpreters are based at three campuses so far; each interpreter has first priority for calls originating from that campus, but the Paras ALVIN technology seamlessly forwards calls to the other campuses when necessary. If all the interpreters are busy, the next call will roll over to a commercial provider of remote interpreting. The KP Greater Southern Alameda Area is now working with Paras and Associates on a model project to extend the ALVIN platform for delivery of tele-health services.

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