TINTON FALLS — Until the mid-2010s, George and Linda Chen of Point Pleasant went out of their way to travel to New York City to see a Chinese-speaking doctor.
“Every time we saw a doctor, we had to spend the whole day,” George Chen said in Mandarin.
Then, he saw an advertisement for Chinese language interpreter services within the RWJBarnabas Health System. This will allow them to take care of their health closer to home.
“We are very happy,” Linda Chen said in Mandarin. “I’ve been telling everyone that (the interpreters) are very diligent, that they will tell you step-by-step about everything.”
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The Chen couple have worked with Vivian O’Neill for about six years, calling her for help finding specialists, scheduling appointments, filling out patient intake forms, talking to doctors and asking billing questions.
“They’re so busy and yet they still help us,” said Linda Chen, who moved to the US nearly four decades ago, “appointments, insurance, therapy.”
thousands are helped
The Chinese Medicine program began in 2010 at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch. It has since expanded to the Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood and the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital campuses in New Brunswick, Hamilton and Somerset. The six-person interpreting team is native to Mandarin, Cantonese and some dialects such as Toisani and can translate into English with professional proficiency.
According to Monmouth Medical Center public relations manager Cathy Horan, since 2010, more than 41,000 patients have contacted the Chinese medicine program, with 12,700 patients coming to Monmouth Medical Center and Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus.
Since the mid-2010s, community-specific medical programs have been tailored to Russian-speaking and Indian communities, resulting in 16,000 patients at Monmouth Medical Center and Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus since its inception.
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Stephanie Xue, regional director of the Community Specialty Medical Program, said the Indian Medical Program is currently only working to schedule appointments for the Monmouth and Ocean County locations, as the health care chain seeks to hire a new staff member. At the Somerset campus, interpretation is available in Hindi and Gujarati. The Newark and Livingston campuses have their own separate Chinese language programs, he said. The New Brunswick campus offers African-American and Spanish medical programs.
In 2000, former President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13166, mandating that facilities receiving federal funding assist people with limited English proficiency.
Hackensack Meridian Health, which operates five hospitals in Monmouth and Ocean counties, provides interpretation services upon request.
Interpreters may be available by phone, video call or in person, according to Hackensack Meridian Health spokesman Eric Muench. In addition to interpreters on staff, the health care provider partners with language service agencies to “manage an average of 150 daily interpreter assignments across the network.”
He wrote in an email, “Effective communication is a patient right and language services at Hackensack Meridian Health are available to meet any communication needs our patients may have during their stay with us and when scheduling appointments, insurance etc. as well as during critical conversations related to patient care.”
For patients who request languages outside of in-person interpretation, interpreters are available by video call in 50 languages, according to RWJ Barnabas Health spokeswoman Tracy Benjamini. In addition, she wrote in an email, Monmouth Medical Center has “dual-headset phones available to translate over 250 different languages and dialects.”
When the chains met Dr. Hiten Amin, an affiliate of Monmouth Medical Center, at his office in Tinton Falls, O’Neill walked him through his initial check-in and sat with him during his appointment.
Dr. Amin said he liked that the interpreters provided patient feedback in real time.
“In the office, we’re teaching things, we’re explaining things,” Dr. Amin said. “(Patients) have a value in asking questions and really clearing up any confusion.”
She said she worked with interpreters to explain tests, imaging, follow-up appointments, lab call backs and medication administration.
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Josephine Kam, program coordinator for the Chinese medicine program, said the team was formed to meet the needs of the growing Chinese-speaking immigrant community.
“Maybe they are fluent in English,” Xue said, “but still, if they go to the hospital, they will say… ‘I don’t know where to go, I don’t know (whom) I have to go to. Hai se baat).'”
He said there are patients with doctoral degrees, experts in their fields, who are lost when it comes to health care in America. He said this has delayed care for patients “until something serious”.
In addition to being a one-stop service for Chinese-speaking patients, Xue said she is working to educate the Chinese-speaking immigrant community about her services and those provided by RWJBarnabas Health System.
“We have a team,” she said. “We can support them. We’re always here, whatever they need.”
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arrival of new patients
Tatiana Pidgny, with the Russian Medicine Program, said her team supports the Russian-speaking community, which includes immigrants from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, from where she said she’s seen an influx of new patients last year.
“We help them navigate the best doctor based on their insurance,” Pidgey said. “We also stay after (during) the surgery, the day after surgery, connect with the family, take care of the medicine. And of course, we do a lot of outreach.”
Linda Chen describes O’Neill and the team as family. He showed O’Neill text messages reminding him of his appointments.
“We are really very grateful,” Chen said.
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Olivia Liu is a transportation reporter covering Red Bank and western Monmouth County. He can be contacted at [email protected]