Augusta Health uses translation technology to improve communication across languages

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - Augusta Health is using translation technology to make communication across multiple languages easier while serving a diverse patient community.

Hospital staff say simple questions — like where to go, how to find a restroom, or where to eat — can become major barriers when patients and families face language differences. Those challenges often appeared at entrances and high-traffic areas, where volunteers, security, and support staff were trying to help without consistent translation tools.

To address that gap, Augusta Health began using Pocketalk, a handheld translation device designed to support quick, everyday communication.

“Normally when you implement new technology there’s a little bit of push back,” said Augusta Health Patient Advocate Ty Cashatt.

Cashatt said the tool was quickly embraced because it addressed real needs staff were already encountering throughout the day. The device allows conversations to move back and forth smoothly and fits naturally into daily operations.

The translation technology is now used across multiple departments, including security, environmental services teams cleaning patient rooms, volunteers stationed at hospital entrances, and the medical records department.

“Our security team, our EVS team that is cleaning the rooms — they have access to them — all of our volunteers at all of the entrances as well, and recently our medical records department,” Cashatt said.

Hospital staff say that early access to communication support helps reduce confusion before patients ever reach an exam room and continues throughout their visit, where clarity and timing are especially important.

The device allows users to select a country flag and dialect, reducing the need to search through long lists of languages.

“You no longer have to rely on what you’re hearing and trying to find and scrolling through different languages,” Cashatt said. “They can select a flag, choose the country, and then the dialect as well.”

Augusta Health said it plans to continue using the translation technology across multiple departments as part of routine patient care.

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