The Missouri Hospital Association has launched a Web site to help hospitals serve patients whose first language is not English. Missouri’s foreign-born population is on the rise – totaling more than 150,000 according to the 2000 census – and many don’t have a good grasp of the English language. The Missouri Hospital Association’s Leslie Porth says the MHA is trying to deal with that by making available important documents in the languages spoken by many of these people. Administrative forms – including admission agreements and consent forms – are currently available for downloading in Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian. The Web site is www.HealthTranslations.com.
