Banfield Pet Hospital is going nationwide with a free interpretation service for clients who speak one of 350 languages.
Tested at six Southern California hospitals over the summer, the program connects pet owners by phone with a translator working for a contractor, Lionbridge Technologies. The service is in effect at Banfield’s 1,050 hospitals in the United States and Puerto Rico and to anyone calling Banfield’s client service line, 877-656-7146.
“Whatever our preferred language, we can all understand the unconditional love we have for our pets,” said Stephanie Neuvirth, senior vice president of people and organization. “At Banfield, we believe every pet owner deserves culturally competent care.”
The service is especially helpful in explaining a pet’s diagnosis and treatment needs, Banfield reported.
As part of an effort to support inclusion and diversity, the company earlier this year relaunched its Spanish-language website, https://es.banfield.com.