America 's oldest public hospital, Bellevue supported 6 beds when it was founded in 1736. Today, an acute care hospital operated by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest municipal hospital and health care system in the country, Bellevue Hospital Center has nearly 800 beds and provided 93,583 ER visits and 481,306 clinic visits is 2006. More than half of Bellevue’s patients prefer to communicate in languages other than English.

While the sheer number of patients Bellevue treats each year is staggering, the quality and breadth of its services, as well as its distinguished staff, are widely recognized. Bellevue has been the recipient of numerous awards for highest levels of patient care services. The hospital has been rated #1 three consecutive years for Psychiatry by U.S. News and World Report. It was also rated #1 for Emergency Medicine and #3 for Neurology/Neurosurgery by New York Magazine in 2006. One of its nursing units was named best in the country by the Nurses' Association, a first for a public hospital.

Bellevue , an affiliate of New York University School of Medicine, serves as the medical facility for dignitaries visiting New York City, including the President of the U.S. and diplomats from the United Nations.

Bellevue was one of the first hospitals in the country to pilot remote simultaneous interpreting. Following the success of the pilot, HHC worked closely with SimulTel to build and implement state-of-the-art VoIP based technology for an expanded in-house remote simultaneous interpreting service that serves Bellevue as well as other HHC facilities in New York City.

Today, the expanded service supports 8 languages (Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Fukinese, Bengali, Polish, French and Haitian Creole) through more than 30 remote interpreters. A number of the interpreters are visually handicapped, providing them an excellent employment opportunity while meeting the interpreting needs of patients and their providers.

The service has received numerous accolades from government officials, the health care industry, and members of the press, including the following:

• Featured in the Technology section of the New York Times (April 2000)
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• Featured in Trustee Magazine (American Hospital Association) (September 2000)
• Featured in Newsday (November 2000)
• Featured on NBC evening local news (January 2004)
• Received the New York State Governor’s Award recognizing organizations that have developed programs leading to the employment of qualified people with disabilities.