Last modified: Sunday, July 29, 2007 12:40 AM EDT Connie DaCosta is manager of interpretive services at Caritas Norwood Hospital in Norwood. She says the ability to converse in more than one language is key to delivering health care in an area where patients may speak languages that run from Portuguese to Hindi. She says the demand for interpreters is on the rise. (Staff photo by MARK STOCKWELL) Lost in translation BY RICK FOSTER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Attleboro - For Connie DaCosta, every day is a new experience - and often with a new accent. From helping a Portuguese-speaking family understand a loved one's medical problem to reassuring a non-English- speaking woman who has come in for a prenatal checkup, bridging the language barrier is an increasingly important objective for doctors and hospitals and the patients they treat. And in an era of increasing diversity, patients may speak languages as diverse as Spanish, Russian and Arabic. DaCosta, manager of interpretative services at Caritas Norwood Hospital, supervises a corps of staff and per diem interpreters that speak languages that run from Italian to Cape Verdean Creole to Hindi. She said the ability to communicate fully with patients who do not speak English or have a limited command of the language is a key to delivering quality health care. That need has increased recently with the influx of large numbers of Portuguese-speaking Brazilians into the Norwood area. In a year's time, the hospital logs about 15,000 "encounters" with non-English speakers where translation services are needed. "It can be very frustrating both for the staff and patient without someone to voice what their needs are," said DaCosta who said multilingual communication helps doctors to understand patients' health complaints and to put patients at ease. "It's an amazing experience, when you see someone come in with very little English and then they see someone who's able to converse with them in their own language," DaCosta said. "Suddenly their eyes shine and they have a big smile for you." Doctors and hospitals aren't the only ones struggling to adapt to a more diverse demographic. Local courts, police departments, schools and other public agencies are facing increasing needs for translators and other workers proficient in foreign languages to ease communications and make it easier both for non-English speaking users and the agencies themselves to conduct business. Among the agencies where the need for translators is greatest are the courts, which are experiencing an explosion in the number of users who are non-English speaking ranging from witnesses to defendants to women applying for restraining orders against husbands. Attleboro District Court, one of the busiest district courts in the state, has experienced an increasing need to communicate with citizens who speak foreign languages according to clerk magistrate Daniel Sullivan. The court already employs staff members fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and Khmer. That need comes against a backdrop of an increasingly diverse population across southeastern Massachusetts. Attleboro, although still a predominantly English-speaking community, has added significant numbers of immigrants in recent years particularly from Central America where the predominant language is Spanish. According to the 2000 Federal Census about 5,000 residents reported speaking a language other than English although only about 2,000 - or 4.9 percent of the population - was able to speak English "less than well." That increased diversity is also represented in courts statewide. Massachusetts' court systems currently spend about $5 million per year for interpretative services which include 22 staff interpreters and a corps of per diem translators, according to manager of court interpreters Gaye Gentes. Last year, the program provided translations in 70 different langauges. In the last six years, the need for interpreters throughout the court system has mushroomed from 52,000 individual translations to more than 90,000 last year. A majority of the need for interpreters is for Spanish, with Portuguese and Southeast Asian languages running a distant second. The fastest-growing language currently is Portuguese due to a growing influx of Portuguese-speaking Brazilians into the Bay State. Access to an interpreter at court is automatically guaranteed under state law. Nevertheless, law enforcement and court officials don't see hiring foreign language-proficient personnel just as a legal requirement or an accommodation to non-English speakers. Rather, they say, it can be a tool for operating their departments more efficiently and for fighting crime. "It's a big concern," said Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter, who has recently hired 12 multi-lingual staffers to supplement eight existing foreign-language speaking personnel. Sutter says he views foreign language capability not only as a necessary tool for investigating crimes and interviewing witnesses but as a key asset in helping convince the public to co-operate with law enforcement. "In a situation like domestic violence where often one party's strong desire to prosecute may fade over time, if we can communicate in that person's language we stand a better chance of convincing them to stick it out and see things through to a conviction," Sutter said. Attleboro police have actively recruited personnel with foreign-language abilities and currently have three Spanish- and two Portuguese-speaking officers, police Capt. David Proia said. Typical is Detective Alex Aponte, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the mainland United States in 1966. Aponte, who spoke no English when he arrived in New England, quickly learned English as a young boy and was soon called on by family members and friends to translate documents and speak for them at doctor appointments and other important occasions. "It's funny," says Aponte. "Looking back, I used to hate it. I'd get taken out of school or wouldn't be able to play basketball because they needed me. Now I realize that opened up a lot of doors for me." Aponte, who worked in Sturdy Memorial Hospital's emergency department before joining the police force, has used his Spanish-speaking ability not only to track down crooks but to help build relationships in the neighborhoods through community policing efforts and bicycle patrols, Proia said. Over the years Aponte and other bi-lingual officers have managed not only to solve crimes but to make valuable friends among citizens who otherwise might have had trouble communicating with law enforcement. "In the past, if I'd done something that helped someone the family might send somebody to the station to thank me or send me some Spanish food," said Aponte. "It's their way. It really gives you a good feeling." Other area communities with smaller concentrations of foreign language-speaking citizens, such as Mansfield and North Attleboro, generally lack police officers qualified in other languages. But most have access to translation services which can be set up over the phone. Although state law now requires that instruction in schools be in English, area schools employ English as a second language instructors to ease the transition of non-English speaking students into the system. Attleboro, which has one of the highest concentrations of recent immigrants in the area, estimates that about 5 percent of its school population is in the process of transitioning to English from some other language. Currently, enrollees speak at least 19 different languages, according to school department Title I Coordinator Marie Deedy. Attleboro provides programs for English language learners on a "top-to-bottom basis" - from kindergarten through the high school level. Meanwhile, back at the Norwood hospital, Connie DaCosta said the relationships she forges by acting as an interpreter to patients and their families often turns out to be extremely rewarding. "You get to know a lot of people on a more personal basis," said DaCosta next to a bulletin board in her office covered with notes, cards and baby pictures sent in by people she and other interpreters have helped. Sometimes, however, DaCosta shares the sorrow of patients and families confronted by medical crises or accidents. "It's very difficult when you have to deliver bad news to someone," she said. "I've cried with more than one patient here."