2/17/05 — Strategic Alliance between Culturesmart and Deaf-Talk as a Value-Added Service for Clients

Deaf Talk and Culturesmart have signed a strategic alliance agreement in which Culturesmart will offer its well-known 40-hr medical interpreter training program and other Culturesmart consulting services to Deaf-Talk clients. Deaf-Talk sees this as a great opportunity to offer a value-added service to their clients, who, while using Deaf-Talk services, have a desire to grow their linguistic and cultural capacity by cross-training their bilingual staff. This is very much in line with Deaf-Talk’s belief that its Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) services can be used as a viable alternative or in addition to other existing means of communicating with Limited-English Proficiency (LEP) clients. Each intensive training program consists of 45 hours delivered in many formats, carefully tailored to meet clients’ needs. “We’re thrilled to be able to provide such high quality training in other states now. Through our comprehensive needs assessment and customized systemic training approach, we are able to meet the very specific needs of each organization. As far as I know, Culturesmart is one of the few linguistic and cultural organization that provides a broader range of skills and offers extensive language-specific training – currently in over 18 languages and dialects. And the list keeps growing…” says Figaro, Chief Executive Officer of Culturesmart. (www.culturesmart.org)

Deaf-Talk LLC (DTI – www.deaf-talk.com ) Since 2000, Deaf-Talk has been a leader in Sign Language Interpretation via videoconference for hospitals nationwide.  The integration of this technology with Certified Sign Language Interpreters made the communication between health care professionals and the deaf, easy and timely, particularly in emergencies when a few short minutes could be the difference between life and death.Realizing the communication gap was yet much greater, Deaf-Talk expanded, introducing a new name, DT Interpreting, and new services, such as videoconference interpretation in fourteen target languages, phone interpretation services in 150 languages, written translations, and transcription into Braille. Deaf-Talk renders services around the clock, 24/7, 365 days per year, and its interpreters, translators and transcriptionists are seasoned, certified professionals with experience in many different fields and disciplines. Clients include Hospitals, Utility Companies, Collection Agencies, National Trucking Companies, Public Transit Systems, Federal and State Prisons, International Resorts, Universities, Crisis Help Lines, 911 Services, Postal Facilities, and many others. Deaf-Talk is rapidly growing at a rate of twenty hospitals a month, and has drawn the attention of several media organizations due to its impact in the health care industry.