UH understands that employees and patients come from many different backgrounds and experiences. Our goal is to acknowledge the needs of every individual regarding these characteristics and to gain a mutual understanding of each other in our interactions. Our staff actively participates in various community outreach programs that immerse us into a diverse community.

Our mission is "To Heal. To Teach. To Discover." and UH identifies with each unique individual, embracing their differences, to help in the discovery, teaching and healing process.

Our staff and patient backgrounds are increasingly diverse, and UH is committed to developing programs and maintaining standards that promote improved communication with patients and employees.

UH is dedicated to enhancing all employees' cultural competencies by promoting awareness of and educating our faculty on communicative mannerisms. Our professionals are given training and resources to broaden their cultural awareness and understand the language and other cultural needs of our patients.

Accordingly, UH provides language learning tools and cultural preparation to overcome language barriers. Employees and patients alike may use a language support hotline accessible 24 hours per day to assist with any communication barriers.

MARTTI

University Hospitals also utilizes MARTTI (my accessible real-time trusted interpreter) technology to connect patients with interpreters via a secure, video-based translation service. The technology allows medical staff to dial up real-time translations in more than 150 different languages, ideal for emergent situations when there is no time to schedule a translator.

Currently available at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and University Hospitals Richmond Medical Center, MARTTI will be rolled out system-wide over the next several years.