education issues

"The National Coalition for Literacy is disappointed with the proposed
flat funding and budget cuts in these areas, and we feel strongly that as the
budget process moves forward, the Congress must reassess these priorities and
make several significant changes.
"In last week's State of the Union speech President Bush outlined his
American Competitiveness Initiative, a package of policies aimed at making
America more competitive in the world. We support his efforts but urgently
recommend that he add a renewed emphasis on overall adult literacy policy.

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America Today: One in Eight Born Elsewhere

DALLAS, What would you do if people speaking 18 new
languages showed up at your business expecting service, some urgently, this
year? That's what happened in 2004, according to statistics from more than
700 hospitals across the country last year.cyracom.com.

drugs issues

WASHINGTON, The National Coalition for Literacy
issued the following statement today regarding President Bush's proposed
budget for Fiscal Year 2007:

"The President's budget today reflects the hard choices of our times . Six
million immigrants arrived since 2000 and, if that rate continues, more than
14 million will arrive by the end of this decade. They also
noted that facility executives understand the role language interpretation
plays in patient safety and patient satisfaction only moderately well.

About CyraCom International
CyraCom pioneered the development of "transparent" over-the -phone
interpretation services, and specializes in serving the health care industry
in which precision and cultural accuracy are vital to effective communication. In
addition to over-the-phone interpretation , this includes translation of
written materials as well as testing and training.

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literacy health

The demonstrated need in the area of adult
and family literacy is just too great to fall by the wayside.
"In other words, if you can't read, you won't succeed.

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"America's melting pot is bubbling on high and is near-scorching in many
parts of the country," said the CEO of the company, CyraCom International ,
hosting the conference "Strategies for Leadership: Does Your Hospital Reflect
the Community It Serves?" More than 34 million people in the United States
were born outside the United States , according to a 2004 census report. The company's language
specialists are trained in medical-specific terminology and concepts, enabling
CyraCom to better meet the needs of health care professionals in over 700
health care facilities it serves nationwide. For more information, call
770-645-4545 or visit http://www.

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"As many observers already know, last December the Bush Administration
released the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, an exhaustive study of
adult literacy levels in the United States. This demonstrates
a clear need for profound changes in federal adult literacy policy in order to
address this looming problem.
Hospital representatives surveyed at a national conference today in Dallas
said health care facilities are meeting the needs of today's patients only
moderately well and that ethnic community advocacy organizations are
dramatically stepping up their demands for expanded language services.

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What it found was startling: As
many as 93 million adults didn't have the literacy skills necessary to
function adequately in America's increasingly complex society. We
feel strongly that doing this would ensure that the current American workforce
will have increased access to opportunities for success in the workplace, the
home, and the community . They said although programs to impact the
negative effect of patient medication errors have been put in place, language
issues have not been adequately addressed.

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However necessary, national security and national defense priorities are
crowding out funding for very basic needs in other areas of public policy.
This is particularly true when it comes to adult literacy, family literacy,
adult education programs, and English as a Second Language programs.

Hospital Leaders Identify Language Issues

Conference attendees said language interpretation is most needed in the
emergency room , labor and delivery and acute care departments.

illegal issues

Attendees noted patient needs impact direct clinical care as well as
hospital business operations.