Trinity Health Of New England: A Decade of Partnership Driving Equity in Language Access
For more than ten years, Trinity Health Of New England has partnered with Martti to ensure that language is never a barrier to care.
SUMMARY
Trinity Health Of New England’s language access framework centers equity, collaboration, and actionable insights by embedding Martti at every level of care delivery. Key elements include:
✔ Mission-aligned equity focus Language access is embedded in Trinity’s patient-centered care mission across Connecticut and western Massachusetts, addressing diverse linguistic and communication needs.
✔ Strategic partnership evolution Martti’s role has grown from a remote interpretation vendor to a strategic collaborator driving training, workflow integration, and proactive problem-solving.
✔ Data-informed operations Martti and Trinity Health analyze usage trends to adapt resources, anticipate linguistic needs, and redeploy support where it’s most impactful.
✔ Responsive care during critical moments Addressing emerging communication barriers in real time, ensuring patients with unique needs — including d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals — continue to receive accessible, equitable care even in rapidly changing clinical environments.
Trinity Health’s framework distills what happens when a health system and language access partner move beyond compliance toward strategic, equitable patient care.
A Mission Aligned with Equity
Trinity Health Of New England serves a diverse patient population across Connecticut and western Massachusetts. From day one, the organization’s approach to language access has been grounded in its mission to deliver compassionate, patient-centered care.
That mission came into sharp focus when Chineye (Chi) Anako, now Vice President, Health Equity and Human Impact at Trinity Health, joined Saint Francis Hospital, one of Trinity Health’s ministries, and was tasked with building a comprehensive language services program under a 60-day federal mandate. With Martti in place as a video remote interpretation (VRI) provider, Anako quickly recognized the opportunity to turn the moment into something much larger: a long-term framework for equitable care.
“Two days into my role as the health equity program coordinator, I was tasked with creating a fully operational language services program within 60 days,” Anako says. “I learned very quickly that it had to be a multidisciplinary approach. It was essential that we had culturally and linguistically appropriate care across every patient touchpoint.”
Growing from Technology Partner to Strategic Ally
Over the past decade, Martti’s role has expanded beyond delivering remote interpretation services. For example, Martti’s experts have collaborated closely with Saint Francis Hospital to train staff and ensure that language access is accounted for at every step of care. Further, Saint Francis Hospital and Martti co-developed e-learning modules, hosted hands-on training sessions, and conducted live simulations to help teams feel confident using VRI at the bedside.
This partnership model proved critical during unforeseen moments, like when a network outage affected over 50 VRI devices. Martti’s service team identified the issue before it was reported internally and helped coordinate a seamless overnight fix that kept surgeries and appointments on schedule. More importantly, it underscored the level of shared accountability that has defined the relationship.
Using Data to Drive Community Impact
In 2018, after Hurricane Maria, Saint Francis Hospital observed a sharp increase in Spanish-language interpretation. Rather than assume the spike was a blip, Martti and Saint Francis analyzed the data and found a clear explanation: displaced families from Puerto Rico were arriving in Hartford through a direct flight route.
The insight led to operational changes, including redeploying VRI devices to high-traffic areas such as the emergency department, and updating registration teams on documentation nuances.
“We started seeing a significant spike in usage, and it was our Martti representative who flagged it. Their team did the research and helped us understand that it was tied to families from Puerto Rico relocating after the hurricane. That kind of insight really showed the value of having a strong, proactive vendor relationship.”
— Chineye Anako, MPH, CHES, Vice President, Health Equity and Human Impact
Meeting the Moment During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic put even the most prepared systems to the test. For Saint Francis Hospital, it revealed new barriers for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing patients who rely on facial cues to communicate. When a patient’s daughter raised concerns about her mother being unable to lip-read behind masked providers, Anako and her team responded swiftly. They sourced and distributed transparent surgical masks across the system, ensuring no patient would be left behind.
Measurable Outcomes and Personal Impact
Today, Saint Francis Hospital and the other hospitals within Trinity Health Of New England are exploring how their VRI usage correlates with reduced readmission rates. While the analysis is still in progress, the anecdotal feedback is undeniable: providers have shared stories of improved patient understanding, more meaningful conversations, and stronger patient-provider relationships.
“In our outpatient offices at Trinity Health Of New England, we proudly serve a diverse population with a wide range of language and communication needs, and ensuring equitable access to care is a top priority. The video remote interpretation (VRI) device is an essential resource that bridges the communication gap between providers and patients in real time. It supports meaningful conversations during appointments, improves patient understanding and engagement, and helps us deliver equitable, culturally competent care to every individual who walks through our doors.”
Anako now supports a national Trinity Health initiative to standardize communication access across the system. This system-wide team continues to work closely with vendors, including Martti, to audit populations, tailor workflows, and ensure language access is embedded in every operational layer.
“What works in Hartford, Connecticut may not work in Fresno, California,” Anako notes. “You have to look at your population, do a thorough audit to actively find the gaps in language access, and develop a standardized and comprehensive approach. Build your program to ensure that it fits the communities that you serve.”
Her message was clear: language access should never be treated as an afterthought. It's foundational to health equity.
“Build your program to ensure that it fits the communities that you serve. Your community will tell you what they need.”
— Chineye Anako, MPH, CHES, Vice President, Health Equity and Human Impact
A Decade of Progress, and the Work Continues
In 2025 alone, the Hartford market of Trinity Health Of New England, which includes Saint Francis Hospital, Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital and the Medical Group, logged tens of thousands of interpretation encounters through Martti, maintaining a 98% fulfillment rate and a 4.8 customer satisfaction rating. These numbers reflect the consistency, reliability, and patient satisfaction that have defined the partnership over the last decade. Whether in the emergency department or outpatient offices, the Hartford market knows they can count on Martti to be there — ready to support patients in the moments that matter most.
Ten years in, Trinity Health Of New England and Martti are still learning, still adapting, and still raising the bar for what equitable care should look like. This journey shows what is possible when the right people and the right tools come together around a shared goal: ensuring every patient is seen, heard, and understood.
