Inova wants to keep you safe and provide you with excellent care. To ensure effective communication, Inova will make interpreters available at no cost to you. Let us know if you need assistance with communication due to hearing, vision and/or speech impairments, or if you want to communicate with your providers in a language other than English. Our healthcare team respects the unique attributes of our patients and families and we promote quality care that is sensitive to all patients' needs.
Interpreter Services are available free of charge
To ensure effective communication with patients, their family members, and companions who are deaf or hard of hearing, we provide auxiliary aids and services free of charge. These include:
- Sign language and oral interpreters
- TTY/TDD
- Video remote interpreting (VRI), enabled with point to point video calls (VRS), text functionality (TTY), and access to national relay service (711)
- Written materials
- Telephone handset amplifiers
- Assistive listening devices (marketed as Pocketalker)
- Telephones compatible with hearing aids
- Open and closed captioning of most hospital programs
Please note the additional information below about our interpreter services and how to obtain them, including medical interpreters for languages other than English. Ask your nurse or other hospital personnel for assistance, or contact 703-776-7641.
Interpreters and auxiliary aids
The Language Services Program at Inova provides professional medical interpreters to patients and their companions who are limited-English-proficient or who are deaf. Interpreters are available 24/7 to all patients and families for appointments, procedures and hospital stays. There is no cost to patients or families for interpretation at the hospital. The hospital provides appropriate auxiliary aids free of charge, including: TTYs, written materials, telephone handset amplifiers, assistive listening devices and systems, telephones compatible with hearing aides, closed caption decoders, and open and closed captioning of most hospital programs. Please contact the Patient Relations Department at each Inova hospital with any questions.
How do I get an interpreter?
- When scheduling your hospital appointment or service, if not asked, please let us know that you need interpreter services
- When you come to the hospital, tell a hospital staff member if you need an interpreter
- Our staff collectively speaks more than 40 languages and dialects. Your provider can locate volunteer interpreters who are Inova employees and volunteers and who have been screened and trained as medical interpreters. Your provider can look them up by facility and language in our Language Bank or by asking the hospital operators.
- Spanish staff interpreters are available onsite at our five hospital campuses
- We also use a professional telephonic interpreter service that provides interpretation for more than 200 languages
Hearing and vision impaired services
- For the vision impaired, ask about the availability of braille. Also, important forms can be read aloud to the patient.
- Sign language interpreters – all service requests are initiated by your Inova provider by calling 703-776-7641.
