When Mercy Franciscan Hospital Mt. Airy began a program to serve the growing Hispanic population in Cincinnati, Ohio, Alice Wanninger began looking for Spanish-speaking volunteers to assist with translation.

Eventually, the director of volunteer services for the hospital turned to the last place she could think of — two Latter-day Saint missionaries who gave weekly service at the hospital.

She hoped that because they were from the Western United States they might speak Spanish or know someone who did.

They told her of missionaries in the area who had learned Spanish at the Church's Missionary Training Center and were dedicating their missionary service to Ohio's Hispanic community.

She met with Robert Gilliland, President of the Ohio Cincinnati Mission, and a collaboration between the Church and the hospital was born.

Today, nearly a dozen Spanish-speaking missionaries alternate weekly service at the hospital, helping patients fill out applications, register, make appointments and ask questions. The missionaries also give tours of the hospital.

"They are a wonderful addition to our volunteer family and offer great assistance to the Hispanic families we serve," said Rodney D. Reider, president of Mercy Franciscan Hospital Mt. Airy.

The need for Spanish-speaking volunteers stems from the hospital's growing Vidas Preciosas program, a complete maternity care program for Hispanic expectant mothers. The program offers prenatal care, delivery and financial assistance for those who need it.

"When we launched the program in February 2003, our goal was to enroll 50 women over the next 12 months. To date, we have more than 175 Hispanic expectant mothers enrolled," said Robert Tamm, R.N., program manager for Vidas Preciosas.

Ms. Wanninger called the hospital's partnership with the missionaries a win-win situation. "They give me hope for the youth, they really do," she said. "They are such nice young men. They are a great help to us."

The missionaries' volunteer commitment has also helped ensure the success of the program, she added. "They may have left their family but, hopefully, they have found a new one here with us."

Elder Marc Esplin, a Spanish-speaking missionary from Lakewood, Colo., who serves as zone leader, said the program is a great opportunity for the missionaries to interact with the Hispanic community in the area. "All the Spanish-speaking missionaries are in agreement that it is one of the better services we have. There are services that you can do that are good for the community, but you don't get to help the Spanish-speaking community and that is who we are called to serve."

The hospital staff, he added, has repeatedly thanked the missionaries for their service. "They needed our help desperately," he said.

President Gilliland said the Spanish-speaking missionaries serving in Cincinnati really have a challenge. Now, he said, they have found a way to serve the area's growing Hispanic population.

"It is a door for us and a door for them," explained Elder Justin LeBaron, a Spanish-speaking missionary from American Fork, Utah.

Hispanic patients, he said, often don't know what to expect when they come to the hospital. "To speak Spanish helps make them feel at ease," he said.

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