The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care has its first Annual Membership Meeting

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care is a multidisciplinary organization based in the United States whose mission is to promote culturally competent professional health care interpreting as a means to support equal access to health care for individuals with limited English proficiency.

The Council’s first annual meeting took place Saturday, June 30th and Sunday, July 1st , 2007 in downtown Chicago, IL at the University Center. The inaugural conference welcomed interpreters, advocates, policymakers, researchers, trainers, government agencies, coordinators of interpreter and LEP services as well as anyone concerned with ensuring equal access to health care through quality interpreting.

This stimulating and productive event enabled participants to engage in in-depth discussions on certification, training, policy and research, dual-role interpreters, and the NCIHC membership forum. Perhaps the most exciting topic of discussion during the event was on dual role interpreting. Dual role interpreters are individuals who are tested for language skills, trained as medical interpreters, receive extra compensation and assume the task of part-time medical interpreting voluntarily. In this session, participants shared strategies, solutions and constructive plans to help address the common situation of bilingual employees who hold a job in health care and get pulled in to act as an interpreter. In the end, many agreed to disagree on specifics of the issue. Yet, one thing they all agreed upon was that all healthcare interpreters should meet high standards, including dual role interpreters.

Bromberg & Associates Translation Agency, an active member of NCIHC, would like to thank the council for organizing this important event. “Assessing performance of dual task interpreters and training them is an important part of what we do,” said Irina Jesionowski, company’s representative. “National Council plays a vital role in developing standards of practice and educating general public on importance of qualified interpreting services, especially in the area of health care.”