It wasn't difficult to figure out which orthopedic examination room Maria Mendoza was in on a recent Wednesday afternoon at Chicago's Mount Sinai Hospital. She was inside the one with the red flag outside the door that said "Interpreter."

Language interpretation for patients with limited English proficiency is considered such an integral part of operations at the safety-net hospital on Chicago's Near West Side that even orthopedics exam rooms have mounted flags outside to indicate when the interpreter is in.

"It is good. I will go where there are interpreters," Mendoza says, interpreting for a Spanish-speaking patient in an interview.

"The world is small now, we come from different backgrounds and different languages. We need interpreters," says the patient's orthopedic surgeon, Nishitkumar Patel. "It is an indispensable part of delivering healthcare for Mount Sinai."

Yet Mendoza, like the vast majority of medical interpreters in the U.S., does not possess a nationally recognized credential in her profession.

That's because until just a year ago, no national certification was offered by any group, despite more than 25 years of effort to offer one in the field.

Today, two separate Washington-based organizations are beginning what insiders say will be a long process of offering national credentials and then upgrading the expectations for medical interpreters across the country.

The quicker of the two groups to offer a medical interpretation credential, the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters, has granted more than 80 for certified medical interpreters.

Read the rest of this Modern Healthcare article here >>

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If English is your primary language, you may not think of including signage in another language in your medical office.

But you are not only legally required to do so, it also makes patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) feel more comfortable with you and more positive about your practice.

"At the patient level, in-language signage creates a receptive and caring environment," says Lourdes "Lulu" Sanchez, M.S., senior manager of customer experience and implementations for Language Line Services, a provider of language-based services based in Monterey, Calif.

"Similar to when a [LEP] hears the friendly voice of an interpreter speaking her own language, seeing familiar words and signs makes the patient more relaxed and makes it easier for the caregiver to help."

Read the rest of this "Medical Office Today" article on multilingual signage in your offices here >>

Medical Office Today is the leading source of real estate-related information created specifically for the healthcare industry to help healthcare professionals successfully manage their real estate. Understanding how emerging medical issues impact real estate decisions and investment is particularly critical at a time when the healthcare industry is undergoing major reform.

Industry Alert: National Language Access Announcement!

Now available on YouTube.com and through the National Board website.

This documentary chronicles the year since history was made in October 2009 when, after years of hard work and dedication by many, National Certification for Medical Interpreters became a reality!

We follow the process and the development of an independent, non-profit organization, the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters, the certifying body for the Board Certified designation.

This perspective reviews the activities and accomplishments - from pilot testing in the summer of 2009 - to availability of the final exams - culminating with the achievement of the first ever CMI designation awarded to interpreters who dedicate their skills in the critical healthcare profession at the International Medical Interpreters Association conference - all historic firsts!

"The Road to Certification for Medical Interpreters" provides behind the scenes commentary of this monumental effort and achievement including interviews with many of the key contributors, stakeholders, professional interpreters and interpreter advocates who worked tirelessly to achieve a validated certification for this unique profession.

This is a chronological look at the early developments, challenges, process creation, validation and future developments.

Please join us in thanking all of those dedicated individuals and organizations that have made this dream a reality!

Yes We Can...and We Did!

Once again...

Now available on YouTube.com and through the National Board website.

To mark Hispanic Heritage Month, AHRQ launched the Healthcare 411 Spanish-language Web site.

The site mirrors the English-language site and provides links to all AHRQ's Spanish podcasts, videos, and public service announcements, including:

• A podcast on medications to reduce breast cancer risk


• Videos featuring Ileana Ponce-Gonzalez on taking medicines safely


• And tips when having surgery

Four more videos will be available on the site soon and will feature information on emergency room visits, blood clots, gestational diabetes, and osteoporosis.

To learn more, visit the AHRQ's new Healthcare 411 Spanish-language Web site here >>

"A woman in her mid-30s wearing a hijab, the traditional Muslim head covering, comes to an urgent care center complaining of leg pain. The first thing she asks: 'Are there any woman doctors around?'

"She declines to be alone in an exam room with a male doctor. She does not want to be touched by a man who is not a family member, even as part of a medical examination.

"It's a hypothetical situation, recounted in a new paper in The Journal of Medical Ethics, but the scenario neatly summarizes some of the dilemmas confronting health care workers in hospitals serving observant Muslim patients.

"When the traditional health care system cannot accommodate their needs, what are doctors and nurses to do?

Read the rest of this New York Times article here >>

Selected News of the Month

• "Protections of Justice System Should Apply to Us All, Even Non-English Speakers" by Louis Provenzano in the Huffington Post


• 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 Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange county areas. 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 work-at-home, over-the-phone interpreters, we have openings in a number of languages including:

• Arabic
• French
• Somali
• Cantonese
• Korean
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Vietnamese

As well as...

• Bambara,
• Cakchiquel
• Cape Verdean (Portuguese Creole)
• Chamorro
• Chru
• Dakota
• Garre
• Hausa
• Lusoga
• Mankon
• Punu
• Susu
• Trique
• and several others (see our Web site)

And, finally, available Corporate opportunities include:

• Human Resources Coordinator
• Sales Executive - Federal Government
• Senior Sales Executives in Business Partnership Development, Healthcare, Government, General Markets, and Face-to-Face Interpretation
• Account Managers in Healthcare and General Markets
• Business Manager - Face-to-Face Interpretation
• Reporting Analyst - SQL Server

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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