Chicago's Mount Sinai Becomes First Hospital in U.S. to Offer Sorenson Communications' Videophone Booth for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Patients.

New Videophone Booth Enables Individuals Who Use American Sign Language to Place Free Calls through an On-Screen Interpreter to Any Hearing Individual in the U.S.

SALT LAKE CITY & CHICAGO -- Sorenson Communications[TM] today announced it has installed a videophone booth for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals at a public hospital, locating the booth in Chicago's Mount Sinai Hospital lobby. The innovative videophone booth makes communication between deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL) and the hearing world easier than ever.

The Sorenson VP-200[TM] videophone appliance, located within the videophone booth, connects deaf and hard-of-hearing people to a nationwide network of live ASL interpreters who facilitate conversations for them with hearing individuals by way of Sorenson Video Relay Service[R] (VRS). This video relay service is a breakthrough for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals whose primary language is ASL because it allows them to fully express themselves using their own native language during calls to hearing individuals.

The hospital-installed Sorenson Communication VP-200 videophone allows deaf and hard-of-hearing guests and patients who use ASL to fluidly communicate medical information and important patient-condition reports over the videophone to hearing family, friends, and co-workers who are offsite. Deaf patients now have a reliable way to place their own phone calls while at the hospital.

Making the videophone booth available for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and family members reflects Mount Sinai's mission of providing access to critical health care services for everyone who comes to us with a need while also looking for ways to improve the overall health status of the West Side, notes Alan Channing, president and CEO of Mount Sinai Health System. "We treat about 1,300 patients who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, which is more than any other hospital in Chicago, largely because of our Deaf Access Program's reputation. We believe it is important that people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing who are treated by Mount Sinai and who live in our community have the ability to communicate with each other and with the hearing world privately and in the best way possible."

To use a videophone booth, deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals enter a private booth equipped with a Sorenson VP-200 videophone connected to both a television and high-speed Internet. They then enter the phone number of the hearing individual they are calling. Through Sorenson VRS, a qualified ASL interpreter appears on the screen, connects the individuals, and relays the conversation between them. The hearing party receiving the call uses a standard phone line.

"We are excited to be working with Mount Sinai to offer VRS services at critical times, like during hospital visits," notes Pat Nola, president and CEO of Sorenson Communications. "The goal is to break down communication barriers between deaf and hard-of-hearing and those who can hear. In the hearing world, we take for granted the availability of public telephones when we are at the hospital. They provide an essential service for all patients and families to relay important and confidential health care information and to notify anyone who is concerned about a patient's condition."

Teri Hedding, manager of Mount Sinai's Deaf Access Program, explains: "The VRS videophone booth at Mount Sinai Hospital will allow deaf and hard-of-hearing patients to be more self-reliant in making phone calls in their primary language, ASL, to their loved ones, friends, and others for comfort, support, and everyday living."

About Sorenson Communications

Sorenson Communications[TM] (www.sorenson.com) is a provider of industry-leading communication offerings including Sorenson Video Relay Service[R] (VRS), the company's line of videophones, Sorenson IP Relay[TM] (SIPRelay) and Sorenson Video Remote Interpreting[TM] (VRI). Sorenson VRS (www.sorensonvrs.com) enables deaf callers to conduct video relay conversations with hearing friends, business colleagues and family members through a qualified American Sign Language interpreter. The company's Sorenson VP-100 is the first consumer-based broadband videophone appliance specifically designed for deaf individuals. Sorenson IP Relay (www.siprelay.com) allows deaf and hard-of-hearing users to place instant text-based relay calls from a PC or mobile device to any telephone user. Sorenson Video Remote Interpreting[TM] (www.sorensonvri.com) is a fee-based video interpreting service ideal for use in situations where an interpreter cannot be physically present to interpret between hearing and deaf individuals who are at the same location.

About Sinai Health System

For more than 80 years, the hospitals, physicians and staff of Sinai Health System have provided medical care and social services to Chicago's neediest communities. Sinai today is a national model for urban health care, providing a full continuum of care--acute, primary, specialty, and rehabilitation--to meet the needs of the communities and patients we serve. Through its Deaf Access Program, Sinai provides treatment and direct communications and support 24 hours a day to more deaf patients than any other hospital in Chicago. Sinai Health System includes Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Urban Health Institute, Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, Sinai Community Institute and the Sinai Medical Group.