Wegmans breaks down language barrier

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Wegmans blogger Mary Ellen Burris, SVP consumer affairs Wegmans, earlier this week outlined the grocer's services for those patients who speak English as a second language or who don't speak English at all. 

"Once it’s clear there is a language barrier, the pharmacist presents a simple card with several languages identified, and the patient/customer can point to his or language. There is access to 200 languages," Burris wrote. "A phone with two handsets allows both the pharmacist and the customer to be on the phone at the same time, with the interpreter, through a service called Language Line Solutions. Our pharmacy folks are trained in its use, and it was exciting to hear about the first time it was used at one of Rochester stores, on Mt. Read Blvd."

The Language Line Solutions service was instituted this past fall, Burris noted. 

"The second kind of assistance is something called Meducation — by our partner, Polyglot — for printed prescription drug information," she noted. Meducation is a simplified version of patient information available in several languages, including Spanish, Russian, Italian, Cantonese and Mandarin, plus 18 others.