No longer lost in translation: UNCH Interpreters replace pagers with iPod Touch.

Watch the video produced by UNCH that tells why this combination is so compelling.

About five years ago, the interpreters dropped the pager system and started using cell phones in conjunction with a Web-based dispatch management service called ServiceHub. The service was originally designed to meet the needs of the transportation and field service industries. UNC Hospitals was ServiceHub’s first hospital client, said Hans Wynholds, chairman of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company.

Shane Rogers, director of Interpreter Services at UNC Hospitals, said the ServiceHub system was a big improvement over the pager system.

“The ServiceHub system gave us many advantages that we didn’t have before,” Rogers said. “For example, it gave people requesting interpreters a Web page for submitting their requests, and they could see whether or not an interpreter had been assigned to handle their request, and if so, which one.”

For more information, see the UNCH web site, the UNCH blog report, and local news reports, including the local TV station WRAL.  Even the UNC campus newspaper was intrigued enough to run a story.