Compassionate, Accessible Care for All Patients

The George Washington University Hospital provides language interpreter services for all patients who may have the need for communication assistance. Language interpretation services are readily available to help facilitate accurate communication between patients, physicians and staff during the patient’s hospital stay.

Types of Interpretation Tools

Our healthcare team will assess the patient and, as appropriate, the family's/support person’s needs to identify their preferred language and/or mode of communication. We use several types of interpretation tools:

Video Remote Imaging (VRI)

Video remote imaging enables medical professionals to connect face-to-face with qualified linguists through a high-definition audio and video system 24/7. VRI is used with non-English speaking or limited-English proficiency (LEP) and American Sign Language (ASL) patients.

Telephone Interpreters

Our language interpreter services provide medically certified interpreters for over 50 foreign languages, available 24/7, and assist in scheduled family consults.

Dual Handset Interpreter Phone

A special landline phone with two handsets – one for the patient, the other for the care team – to have a three-way conversation with an on-call language interpreter.

In-person Language Interpreters

A certified language interpreter can be requested to provide on-site translation among members of the care team and the patient and, as appropriate, the family/support person in the preferred language.