Medical Interpreter Advocacy Day Spotlights Patient Safety for Limited English Speakers.

More than 100 medical interpreters, language service providers, health care administrators, trainers and advocates recently participated in the first-ever Medical Interpreter Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.

The event, held on April 30, 2010, was focused on raising legislator awareness of the critical role of medical interpreters, the need for reimbursement for their services, and the historic progress made in establishing a national medical interpreter certification.

Interpreters and their allies from 26 states and one interpreter from Japan participated in more than 200 meetings over the course of the day with congressional and federal agency representatives offices on policy issues related to medical interpreting and language access for limited English proficient (LEP) patients and their families.

"I wish all of my colleagues in the medical interpreter profession could have been there to feel the empowerment of the direct participation in the democratic process that makes our nation great," said Janet Bonet with the Nebraska Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI). "This grassroots outreach is not only important for our profession but also for our multicultural nation as we strive to improve patient safety for limited English speakers."

To learn more about this special day and those who participated in it, here are links to articles, photos and videos. Enjoy:

• Video montage of the rally march and messages
• International Medical Interpreter Association (IMIA) page on advocacy of national certification of medical interpreters
• NATI page describing events of the day and those who took part
• National Board for Medical Interpretation Certification (NBMIC) Facebook photos
• Language Line Services photos and video, also from Facebook
• And, finally, scroll down this page for articles, photos and video on the blog of Language Line Services' Louis Provenzano

The number of people who spoke a language other than English at home has more than doubled in the last three decades... and at a pace four times greater than the nation's population growth, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report analyzing data from the 2007 American Community Survey and over a time period from 1980 - 2007.

The percentage of speakers of non-English languages grew by 140 percent while the nation's overall population grew by 34 percent.

Spanish speakers accounted for the largest numeric increase - nationwide, there were 23.4 million more speakers in 2007 than in 1980 representing a 211 percent increase.

The Vietnamese-speaking population accounted for the largest percentage increase of 511 percent (1.0 million speakers) over the same time frame.

The new report, Language Use in the United States: 2007 [PDF], identifies the states with the highest concentrations of some of the most commonly spoken non-English languages.

The languages, and some of the states with the highest percentage of speakers of these languages, include: Spanish (Texas, California and New Mexico), French (Louisiana and Maine), German (North Dakota and South Dakota), Slavic languages (Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), Chinese (California, New York, Hawaii and Massachusetts) and Korean (Hawaii, California and New Jersey).

Read the rest of this news release here >>

Read the full U.S. Census report right here >> (Adobe PDF file)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 American Community Survey.

New America Media Report, May 03, 2010

"Arizona's new get-tough immigration law has emboldened other state capitols to follow suit", according to reporter Marcelo Ballvé.

Legislators in at least 10 states- Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, and Maryland- have called for laws that would mirror Arizona's Senate Bill 1070, according to the Progressive States Network and reporting by New America Media.

"First out of the gate to actually introduce a bill was South Carolina... the South Carolina bill reads: 'When reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt must be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person.'"

"Despite the rash of calls for copycat legislation, it is likely an attitude of caution will prevail in many places, says Suman Raghunathan, who tracks immigration policy for the New York-based Progressive States Network, which works with progressive state legislators nationwide."

Read the rest of this New America Media article >>

• On May 1, It's Mayday for Arizona
• Arizona Law Spurs Conservatives to Push for Immigration Reform
• Immigration Reform Advocates See Silver Lining in Arizona
• Arizona Law Engulfs Immigration Debate--Migration Information Source

If you're just learning about social media - like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, StumbleUpon and many other websites - you can't lose by checking into Mashable.com on a regular basis.

In this Mashable article, Laura I. Gómez, an online media executive and former college language instructor, shares several ways how you can learn and practice your favorite language online and for free!

And, while you're still online, here is another info-rich article from the folks at Lexiophiles.com

Top 100 Language Blogs - Nominated blogs for Language Professionals.

If you wander through Lexiofiles.com you'll find a wealth of language and culture-related gems.

Image by permission of WebTreats on Flickr.com

Interpreter Trainers to Convene in New Brunswick, New Jersey for First Ever National Symposium Focused on Medical Interpreter Education.

Trainers, instructors, language coaches, and curriculum designers of medical interpreting educational programs will gather on the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University, in New Jersey, on Saturday, June 12, 2010 for the first annual National Symposium on Medical Interpreter Education.

The theme of the symposium is: Medical Interpreter Education, A New Standard.

"Now is the time to embrace the new national standard and educate our peers of its value. Symposium participants can take an active role in this national process by joining various projects that are in progress, whose work will be discussed at the symposium," said Hank Dallman, medical interpreting instructor at Rutgers University.

Participants will learn of the latest best practices and trends in medical interpreter instruction, and how to overcome the current challenges of interpreter education professionals.

Key topics to be discussed include an overview of the different types of training programs and venues in which interpreter education takes place, the latest updates on different technologies, training for national certification, internships and practicums, applying for CEU credits, the National Trainers Code of Ethics, and the upcoming IMIA Accreditation Standards for interpreter training programs.

"This event marks a great networking opportunity for interpreter educators nationwide to meet in a more focused way to share ideas and knowledge related to their own working needs," said Izabel S. Arocha, M.Ed, IMIA President

For the "save the date" flier go to: http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/pages/533.pdf

To register go to: http://www.imiaweb.org/conferences/2010TrainersSympReg.asp

For more information about the First Annual Medical Interpreter Symposium, please contact IMIATrainersSymposium@gmail.com.

Selected News of the Month

• "Language Access and the Prevention of Medical Errors" by Louis Provenzano in the HuffingtonPost.com


• Language Line Services' - Cross-Cultural Update for May 2010. Useful Cultural News, Tips and Timely Information


• "Arizona's Immigration Law: Racial Profiling at Its Worst as 10 States Explore Copycat Legislation" by Louis Provenzano in the HuffingtonPost.com

More Language Line Services news here >>

Language Line Services, the leader in language interpretation, is seeking to increase its interpreter team in many languages, as well as offering a wide variety of corporate openings.

Dual Role Interpreters in California

An exciting new opportunity is available to experienced interpreters living in the Los Angeles area. Interpreters will now be able to do both on-site, face-to-face interpreting as well as over-the-phone interpreting in the following languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Farsi, Armenian, and Japanese.

As for over the phone interpreters only, we have openings in a number of languages including:

• Arabic
• Chru
• Edo
• Gaelic
• Haitian Creole
• Japanese
• K'iche
• Latvian
• Pashto
• Punu
• Polish
• Sango
• Sinhalese
• Somaili
• Vietnamese, and
• Several Others

And, finally, among non-interpreter positions, here is a selection for which we are interviewing:

• Trainer - Face-to-Face Interpreter
• Project Manager - Lingo Systems
• Administrative Assistant - Certification Dept.
• Interpreter Response Center Specialist
• Payroll Specialist
• Business Development Executive
• Response Center Specialist
• Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains Applications Developer
• Graphic Designer/Production Artist, and
• Several other positions

For non-interpreter positions, please apply at: www.languageline.com/careers. Click on "Apply Today" under "Corporate Careers" and follow the directions to add your profile.

EEO/AA Employer.

* Some positions may have been filled by the time you apply. However, new positions open every week.

Visit our Career Center here >>

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