The diversity in our local communities is growing at an unprecedented rate. US Census Bureau predicts that minority groups will become the majority by 2042. Language barriers is increasingly becoming an communication issue for patient education and disease prevention. Today, more than 26 million residents are considered limited-English proficient (LEP), almost double what it was in 1990. Providing health services to this population is a problem that will continue to be a challenge.

Although some health departments have financial resources to employ interpreters and bilingual staff, this model is difficult to propagate to each county facility where multiple languages may be needed. A cost effective, comprehensive solution that can be implemented quickly is needed.