New system to break language barriers in Shore 911 centers

CAMBRIDGE — The 911 centers for all nine of Maryland's Eastern Shore counties and Convey911 have joined forces to eliminate language barriers in emergency communications. With Convey911's language translation and communication platform named ConveyCommunicator, the Eastern Shore now provides all residents and visitors with access to emergency and non-emergency assistance, regardless of their spoken language.

The project has been led by the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Communications Division and is funded by the Maryland 911 board, a trust fund set up and managed by the state to provide funding to its 911 centers.

Sgt, Robbie Larimer, manager of the Dorchester Sheriff's Communication Division, said, "The language services provided by Convey have allowed us to provide faster, more reliable, and higher quality language translation, which has allowed us to provide a higher level of service to the residents and visitors of Dorchester County."

Convey911 offers a suite of communication tools, including text-to-911, non-emergency texting, streaming video with translation and transcription, and access to a network of 22,000 human interpreters providing language translation in over 180 languages.

“These tools enable immediate and accurate communication between the 911 centers and community members, improving prompt response coordination for emergency services,” a statement from Convey911 said. “In addition to enhanced technology for language translation, convey911’s human interpretation service, called ConveyConnect, adds a modern perspective to the industry to the outdated language interpretation services that have been a mainstay in the industry.”

This technology-driven approach provides public safety professionals with faster access to qualified interpreters who are trained in emergency service scenarios, minimizing the time required for 911 specialists to obtain crucial information in situations in which a language barrier is present. ConveyConnect's interpreter network is available for 911 centers over the phone and through a mobile app for first responders in the field.

The Caroline County Health department began using the ConveyConnect mobile app earlier this year,

Director of Nursing for the Caroline County Health Department Holly Trice said, "Convey911 has enabled our clinical team to easily communicate with our Spanish and Haitian Creole clients quickly and efficiently. We have not had to wait for an interpreter when activating the request and all interpreters have been professional.”

Convey911l also partners with Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Frederick County, and the City of Laurel, as well as several other public safety agencies and municipalities across the United States.