I have developed this terrible sore throat and deep cough that wont seem to go away, so, naturally, I went into the doctor to get it checked out. Unfortunately every single doctor I went to spoke Creole, you know, the language they speak in Louisiana and is a mish-mash of about 20 different languages – so intertwined that it is a language in its own right. Thankfully it went away on its own, but man, I have a tickle in my throat and I am just not in the mood to put up with that again. If only I had someone to translate for me… Now let us imagine that the shoe is on the other foot and the patient does not speak English. Do you think they are going to go to the doctor for every cough, sniffle, and almond smelling would? My guess is no.

That is where H.B. 144 as proposed by Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D – Salt Lake, District 24) steps in. The bill would allow people that speak English – Spanish, Russian, Bosnian, Somali, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, or Navajo to become certified translators for those various languages.

Now this bill does not require that hospitals have these translators on their staff, it simply sets up the rules and regulations to ensure that someone is qualified to translate between doctors and their patients. A hospital can hire these people if they so choose.

This bill is good policy – not only does it set up legal framework to encourage hospitals to be more competitive in regards to patient care, but it also makes sick people more likely to go to the hospital to get care in the first place. Guess what people, the flu does not care what color your skin is or what language you speak, it cares even less if you are in this country legally or not, all it just knows that it will grow, multiply, and spread to everyone it can…potentially killing people in the process.