As our nation’s policy makers and health care providers debate the future of health care reform, ALTA and Kaiser Permanente are working together to improve the quality of care for ethnic minorities and multilingual patients.

Having recently been recognized with an award for Innovation in Multicultural Health Care from The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), ALTA and Kaiser are pleased that their language testing program is making a positive impact. The award recognizes the Clinician Cultural and Linguistic Assessment for, “effectively and compassionately addressing race, ethnicity, and language proficiency in the delivery of quality, cost-effective services,” (Robert Ross, CEO of The California Endowment).

The Clinician Cultural and Linguistic Assessment (CCLA) is a tool developed by Kaiser Permanente and administered by ALTA to determine the level of target language proficiency of bilingual physicians. The CCLA is designed to assess target language communication (speaking, reading, and listening comprehension) between doctors and patients in a linguistically accurate and culturally sensitive manner without the use of an interpreter. The CCLA is the first and only validated and reliable language assessment tool of its kind, and sets a standard level for effective communication in a medical setting. The results are used to match patients with physicians who are fluent in their language. ALTA, a national leader in language testing, has administered the assessments for Kaiser Permanente since September of 2007.

Recognition of the ALTA-administered language assessment comes as U.S. health care providers increasingly face the challenges of linguistic diversity. A study conducted by The Institute of Medicine recently found that ethnic minorities tend to receive lower quality health care than non-minorities, even when factors such as insurance status and income level are controlled. Kaiser developed its language assessment program to remedy this situation as the number of ethnic minorities in need of health care is likely to increase in the coming decades.

According to NCQA president Margaret O’Kane, “one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home…it’s imperative that health care reform efforts address the impact of disparities on the quality and cost of U.S. health care.” In addition, a 2005 study conducted by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health found that the number of elderly Spanish speakers in the U.S. will climb to 13 million by 2050, even as the U.S. Census Bereau reports that latinos 65 years and older are projected to outnumber all other elderly minorities by 1 million as soon as 2030. The CCLA is offered in Spanish and 13 other languages.

We’re excited to announce that Beyond Words has been nominated to be ranked amongst the Top 100 Language Blogs of 2009 by Lexiophiles.com in the Language Professionals category!

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ALTA’s newest free resource is the Bank Interpreter, a one page, easy to use guide for translating banking terminology between English and Spanish.
The Bank Interpreter includes the following terminology in English and Spanish:
-accounts
-money
-personal information
-loan terminology
-basic banking questions, and much more…

Get your Bank Interpreter at our Free Language Resources page.

ALTA, sponsor of The East Point Track Club, was excited to see coverage of the local competetive track cycling scene in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The story highlighted upcoming events at East Point’s Dick Lane Velodrome, which include free races every Wednesday night. Events also include occasional Keirin races. EPTC team member, Jon, wrote an article for Beyond Words a few months ago describing the Keirin: Japanese Keirin: Sprinting Across Culture.

Here is more info on the track club and upcoming events from the EPTC website:

The East Point Track Club is a competitive team of amateur cyclists who call the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point, GA home! The team seeks to foster an enthusiasm for track cycling in the Southeast by recruiting & developing local talent. Members have competed at both National & World Championships.

Come watch your local track team compete every Wednesday night for FREE!! Go here for the full article.

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Photo Courtesy Hyosub Shin/AJC

ALTA Language Services is a proud sponsor of the 2009 East Point Track Club. The team will be bringing the hammer down at Dick lane Velodrome’s first Pro Race Series of the season on Saturday, May 9th.

The Keirin is presented by No Brakes & Kazane. If you’ve never witnessed track racing here in Atlanta, this is your chance!

The Keirin is an Olympic event where riders are paced up to maximum speed behind a motorcycle until the final lap and a half when they tear up the track to the finish.

A field full of local and imported talent, including Masters World champion Steve “Hitman” Hill, Lanell “The Rock” Rockmore and his Pennsylvania crew, Collegiate National Sprint Champion, David “Goliath” Espinoza, Team Type 1’s “Blazin’” Joe Eldridge and more will battle it out over 4 heats of Keirins to see who the top 6 riders will be to compete in the A-Final and take all the cash and bragging rights as Dick Lane Velodrome’s Keirin Champion. Arrive early to catch the Little League kids race and Men’s and Women’s categorized races.

Afternoon program kicks off at 3pm with the main events beginning at 6pm.
Admission: $5 per person or $10 for the whole family.
Food & Drink: Concessions include the best Hot Dogs in Atlanta!!!

Visit www.dicklanevelodrome.com for more info.

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Photo Courtesy: Chris Kelly

Word Stress is the distribution of stresses within a polysyllabic word. If you’re training to improve your English pronunciation, it is important to place the emphasis on the correct syllable.

Take advantage of this free offer to recieve 9 weeks of Word Stress lessons developed by ALTA’s Accent Training professionals. Visit Free Word Stress to register.

For individuals seeking to improve their level of communication, ALTA has the highest quality Accent Reduction Programs. Read more about how ALTA accent reduction works.

(click image to enlarge)
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To determine if you qualify & to inquire, please visit:
www.altalang.com/beyond-words/help-alta-develop-proficiency-tests/
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Original Artwork Courtesy: banlon1964

Hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday!

Today marks World AIDS day, and as part of the organization Bloggers Unite, we would like to do our part to raise awareness.

ALTA realizes the devastating affects of the AIDS virus throughout the world, and we have taken part in AIDS Walk fundraising events to help bolster research and education programs. No matter what city you live in, or what language you speak, you can make a difference.

Here are a few good organizations that will welcome your contribution of time, money, or talent this holiday season:

AIDS Walk

AIDS Alliance

World AIDS Campaign

World Vision

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ALTA Language Services’ headquarters are in Atlanta, GA.

ALTA now has offices in Washington DC and the resources to provide language services to organizations in all major U.S. cities such as Chicago, Houston, Miami, LA, New York, and San Francisco.

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