Ever feel like you and your doctor are not speaking the same language?

10mg every four hours, or is it 4mg every 10 hours?

Now, what if you and your doctor really don't speak the same language, and your language is one where translators are not usually available?

Sam Yousefazi has seen that first-hand.

A 17-year-old senior at Roycemore School in Evanston, Sam is the first member of his Syrian family to be born in the United States.

Growing up, he saw his Assyrian-speaking grandparents have a hard time communicating with medical providers who spoke English.

But Assyrian? Not likely.

So Sam became their translator, and now, based on that experience, he has created a not-for-profit translation service called Bridge the Gap.

"There's a very big need" for such interpreters," Sam says, particularly among the elderly and/or recent immigrants, in languages such as Assyrian, Armenian, Turkish, Arabic and Tagalog.

Bridge the Gap works with smaller agencies and home health care organizations that are less likely to have translators available than are large hospital systems.

The service "applies to anyone who is homebound" and might be on a telemedicine call, or to those getting in-home health care visits.

Sam has recruited about a dozen volunteer translators, many of whom are high school or college students. So far, Bridge the Gap has helped about 150 patients in the Chicago area.

The translator idea came to Sam during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people had to stay home and see their health care provider via Zoom or some other platform.

That can be challenging enough without a language barrier.

"I was a freshman in high school," Sam recalls, and was "translating more and more" in such situations.

"I realized there were a lot of kids like me who wanted to make a difference," Sam says.

Hence, Bridge the Gap was born.

Sam says there are a lot of people, particularly students, who are looking for ways to volunteer. So he's always looking for more.

Sam is also president of his high school's medical club and has been active in providing CPR training for fellow students as well as distributing first aid kits to individuals experiencing homelessness.

Sam's multiple activities have earned him a congressional Youth Philanthropist of the Year award from U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-8th).

As you might imagine, Sam is aiming for a career in health care.

But whatever job he may end up with, Sam says he wants to expand Bridge the Gap into a nationwide organization.

"At the end of the day," he says, "nothing matters more than a person's health."

More information about Bridge the Gap, including volunteer opportunities, is available online.