ATLANTA – Georgia Relay, the free public service that enables people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or have difficulty speaking to place and receive telephone calls, welcomes Solace Hospice as the newest Georgia Relay Partner. Staff at the hospice center completed their Georgia Relay Partner training earlier this summer, and are now equipped to place and receive calls from Georgia Relay users.
Based in Vidalia, Solace Hospice provides compassionate, personalized hospice care to those with life-limiting illnesses.
The Georgia Relay Partner program seeks to improve communication between local businesses and residents who use Georgia Relay to place telephone calls. Georgia Relay Partners receive free training and materials to learn to answer and place Relay calls with confidence, making it easier to serve customers who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or who have difficulty speaking. Georgia Relay Partners also receive marketing materials to let Georgia Relay users know the company is Relay friendly.
“Making a Relay call to a health care company such as a hospice center is a very emotional experience,” said Brendan Underwood, Georgia Relay outreach coordinator. “There’s an added frustration when the customer service representative doesn’t understand how Relay works and hangs up the phone. The goal of the Georgia Relay Partner program is to eliminate this confusion and help Relay users connect with these businesses. Now, Solace Hospice is better prepared to assist Relay users in these emotional and vital times.”
“Being a Georgia Relay Partner is very important to us,” said Jennifer Gregory, executive director at Solace Hospice. “Our mission is to contribute to the well-being of our community, and we are glad to be able to reach more of it as a Georgia Relay Partner.”
To date, more than 200 local companies have become Georgia Relay Partners. To view a current list, or to request Georgia Relay Partner training for your business, please visit http://georgiarelay.org/relay-partner-program/.
Photo Caption: Georgia Relay outreach coordinator Brendan Underwood with Jennifer Gregory, executive director at Solace Hospice.
About Georgia Relay
Georgia Relay is the free public service that enables people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or have difficulty speaking to place and receive telephone calls. Georgia Relay is available 24/7 by dialing 7-1-1 and is overseen by the Georgia Public Service Commission. For more information about Georgia Relay and its services, please visit www.georgiarelay.org or call 1-866-694-5824 (Voice/TTY).