{"id":42469,"date":"2021-10-15T16:43:12","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T22:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=42469"},"modified":"2023-08-10T08:39:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T14:39:35","slug":"mario-flores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/mario-flores\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Flores"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
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Mario Flores, an interpreter, brought a patient who was on dialysis for 11 years to the attention of transplant clinic leaders. Photo by Molly Blake, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Interpreter makes life-saving connection<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For Mario Flores, words matter. As an interpreter at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, he hears particular sounds, gentle inflections and accents in the words patients say, and then he interprets.<\/p>\n

But perhaps more importantly, Flores listens.<\/p>\n

On a recent day while he was working, a patient who speaks Spanish arrived and Mario was called to interpret. She was here for a third fistula procedure, often done for those on dialysis.<\/p>\n

During the session, the patient said she had been on dialysis for more than a decade and was also on the transplant list. Flores carefully interpreted for the patient and then told her he would like to escort her to the transplant center. He had been an interpreter long enough to know that 11 years on dialysis was not normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are sometimes cultural and even communication barriers that get in the way of care,\u201d said Flores. \u201cThese, plus COVID and perhaps some fear about the transplant, meant this patient was on dialysis for years longer than she should have been.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flores introduced the patient to Dr. Monica Grafals, a nephrologist with the UCHealth Transplant Center, and Breezy Balcazar, transplant center administrative support, and he shared some background about her case. He left her in the capable hands of the team and went about his day.<\/p>\n

A month or so later, Flores heard a patient was asking for him. His patient \u2013 the one he had referred to the transplant center \u2013-received a life-saving organ.<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked into her room and she had tears in her eyes,\u201d said Flores. \u201cIn those moments, it\u2019s so rewarding to do what I do, and work with this amazing team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Clarkson, manager for language services, says Flores always goes the extra mile to make sure patients can access and participate in the care they need.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is receptive to different communication needs, and works with providers and patients alike so they can authentically connect with one another,\u201d said Clarkson.<\/p>\n

The connection Flores made between the patient and the transplant team allowed a patient to go off dialysis, get a new kidney and visit her mother in Mexico. Flores wasn’t even supposed to work the day he originally worked with the patient. It was, he said, “serendipitous.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s why I enjoy coming on campus to work with patients face-to-face,\u201d said Flores. \u201cI would have heard the words, but I may not have seen the frustration in her eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/p>\n

You Make Extraordinary Possible<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Together, we recognize and honor the qualities within ourselves by shining a spotlight on how each and every one of us improve lives in big ways and small.<\/span><\/p>\n

Share a story<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interpreter makes life-saving connection For Mario Flores, words matter. As an interpreter at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, he hears particular sounds, gentle inflections and accents in the words patients say, and then he interprets. But perhaps more importantly, Flores listens. On a recent day while he was working, a patient who speaks Spanish arrived […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":42470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"on","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Relevanssi image attachment filter Relevanssi index exclude","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4826],"class_list":["post-42469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-you-make-extraordinary-possible"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMario Flores - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For Mario Flores, words matter. 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