Interpreter Services

At Stanford Medicine Children's Health, we communicate in your preferred language.

We strive to provide complete support to all our patients and their families. This includes respecting their language or cultural needs. Our first priority is effective communication between you and our medical team.

If you prefer to receive medical information in a language other than English, our free Interpreter Services team is available to assist patients and their families effectively communicate about and understand their medical journey.

You can use interpreter services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year—either in person or by video or phone.

In-person interpretation

• Spanish interpreters are here at the hospital 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• American Sign Language (ASL), Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese interpreters are here during business hours.
  • Business hours are Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Indigenous language interpreters are available by appointment and by phone.
• Other languages: pre-scheduling is required for in-person interpretation.

Video remote interpretation

• Spanish interpreters can speak to you through phone or video 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• You can contact an interpreter using the iPad as a phone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are iPads available in most rooms. There are 200 language options for this method.
• You can contact an interpreter via video on the iPad during business hours.
  • There are 25 language options for this method.
  • Business hours are Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Indigenous language interpreters are available by phone.
• For our Deaf or Hard of Hearing families, we provide American Sign Language interpretation through video in our lobby, our units, and clinics.

We partner with specialized agencies to meet our families’ needs.